IR-2020-63, April 1, 2020
WASHINGTON — The IRS has extended the deadline for members of the public to apply for membership on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel for 2021. Individuals may submit a TAP application online at www.improveirs.org through April 20, 2020.
Please consider this opportunity to make a difference in how the IRS delivers products and services. A video is available with information about the TAP and how volunteers can contribute to this dynamic group.
New members for 2020
The Internal Revenue Service recommended, and the Department of the Treasury has approved, the selection of 33 new members to serve on the TAP for 2020.
The new TAP members will join 32 returning members to round out the panel of 65 volunteers for 2020. The new members were selected from a pool of more than 300 interested individuals who applied during an open recruitment period last spring and alternate members who applied in prior years.
The TAP is a federal advisory committee charged with listening to taxpayers, identifying issues, and making suggestions to improve IRS service and customer satisfaction. Oversight and program support for the TAP are provided by the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS that helps resolve taxpayer problems and makes administrative and legislative recommendations to mitigate systemic problems.
Members of the TAP work on a variety of issues that impact taxpayers in the key areas where the IRS and the public interact the most. Members also serve as a conduit for bringing grassroots concerns raised by the taxpaying public to the attention of the IRS.
TAP members are U.S. citizens who volunteer to serve a three-year appointment and are expected to devote 200 to 300 hours per year to panel activities. To the extent possible, TAP members are demographically and geographically diverse, providing balanced representation from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition, there is one TAP member from abroad who represents the interests of taxpayers working, living, or doing business abroad or in a U.S. territory.
The new TAP members by location:
Name
City
State
James Sharmat
Santa Monica
CA
Sandy Villella
Wildomar
CA
Cynthia Torres
Riverside
CA
Martha Lewis
Colorado Springs
CO
Barbara Snowden
West Haven
CT
Alexas Pickron
Townsend
DE
Joseph Magyar
Tampa
FL
Charles Jones
Green Cove Springs
FL
Nina Tross
Apollo Beach
FL
Ying Sa
Des Moines
IA
Hercules Iraklis Analitis
Urbana
IL
Jordan Bayles
Terre Haute
IN
Paula King
Lexington
KY
Kimberly Shepherd
Monroe
LA
Dorothy Havey
Lincolnville
ME
Jocelyn Gutowski
Saint Robert
MO
Jessica Wilson
Byram
MS
Jim Buttonow
Summerfield
NC
Edward Donvan
Holly Springs
NC
Cedric Obiaka
Omaha
NE
Kenneth Lewis
New York City
NY
T Renee Parker
Brentwood
NY
Patrice Brown
Brooklyn
NY
Thomas Kerr
Amherst
NY
Laurie Brock
Eugene
OR
Lindsey Funair
Du Bois
PA
Michael Avery
San Juan
PR
Brandon Ruest
North Providence
RI
Leigh Ann Wood
Columbia
SC
Joseph Edelen
Vermillion
SD
Marlon Bell
Pearland
TX
Cassandra Knight-Paige
Houston
TX
Richard Brouillard
Waterloo
WI
Taxpayers can contact the TAP representative for their geographic area by calling 888-912-1227 (a toll-free call) or online at www.improveirs.org.
Taxpayers can also send written correspondence to the TAP at the following address:
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
TA:TAP, Room 1509
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20224