IR-2003-62, May 7, 2003
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service’s Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) will hold a public meeting May 21, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Treasury Executive Institute, located in the U.S. Mint Federal Building, 801 9th Street, NW., Washington, D.C.
The 18-member panel includes external stakeholders and representatives who deal with employee retirement plans, tax-exempt organizations, tax-exempt bonds and federal, state, local and Indian tribal governments. ACT members are appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury and generally serve two-year terms. They advise the IRS on operational policies and procedures.
During the meeting, project teams will present recommendations to Division Commissioner Evelyn Petschek and the senior leadership of the IRS’ Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE). The projects cover:
The Exempt Organizations determination review process.
Abusive tax shelters involving tax-exempt and government entities.
TE/GE audit issues (an interim report).
Gateway opportunities for customers of TE/GE’s Federal, State and Local   Governments Division.
The team’s project reports and the proceedings of the meeting will be made public under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
Due to limited seating and security requirements, members of the public interested in attending the meeting should call Demetrice Tuppince to confirm their attendance. She can be reached at 202-283-9954 (not a toll-free number). Attendees are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes before the session begins.
In a related matter, the IRS announced the selection of seven new members of the ACT, who will join the 11 returning members in June. The new members of the ACT are:
Employee Plans
Michael P. Coyne of Westlake, Ohio. Coyne is an attorney-at-law with Waldheger-Coyne. His practice focuses on tax, corporate and employee benefit issues of small employers and closely held businesses, with special emphasis on clients involved in health care. He presently represents approximately 250 qualified plans. He holds a Juris Doctor in Law from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
	 
Douglas Kant of Waban, Mass. Kant is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Fidelity Investments, where he works primarily with institutional retirement and employee benefits business units. He has a 25-year background in tax, ERISA and compliance aspects of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans of both for-profit and tax exempt sectors. He is on the Board of Directors of the American Benefits Council and holds a Juris Doctor in Law from the Boston University School of Law.
Exempt Organizations
Ann Western Bittman of Washington, D.C. Bittman is Vice President, Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), where she has served in numerous leadership positions. She has over 13 years of experience in not-for-profit organizations and has had first-hand experience with many of the financial issues faced by tax-exempt organization. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a Certified Association Executive (CAE). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University.
	 
George A. Vera of Los Altos, CA. Vera is a CPA and the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the nation. He is responsible for the finance and administration functions of the foundation, including investments, finance and accounting, information technology, facilities and grants management. He holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Harvard University.
Government Entities:  Indian Tribal Governments
Angelique Peters of Agency Village, S.D. Peters is a solo practitioner on the Lake Traverse Reservation. She has formerly held the position of tribal attorney of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, where she was responsible for assisting in all legal affairs of the tribe.  For the third consecutive year, she is on the Board of Directors for the National Native American Bar Association. Peters holds a Juris Doctor in Law from the University of North Dakota School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University.
	 
Raymond C. Etcitty of Gallup, N.M. Etcitty is the Chief Legislative Counsel for the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian tribe in the United States, with a land base larger than West Virginia. He was formerly Executive Director of the Office of the Navajo Tax Commission, the tax and revenue department of the Navajo Nation. He has also taught courses in Federal Indian Law and Indian Taxation at the University of New Mexico School of Law and the University of Phoenix. Etcitty holds a Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law.
Government Entities:  Federal, State and Local Governments
David Barrow of Sacramento, Calif. Barrow is the Manager of the Tax Support Section of the California State Controller’s Office and has over 29 years of state and local government experience spanning employment tax, reporting and Social Security Section 218 coverage. He is a member of the National Conference of State Social Security Administrators (NCSSSA) and is recognized as a state expert on federal employment tax coverage, withholding and reporting.
The returning members of the ACT are:
Employee Plans
Brian Anderson, of Dewitt, Ross & Stevens, S.C., Madison, Wis.
Mary Beth Braitman, of Ice Miller, Indianapolis, Ind.
John W. Schroeder, of Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif.
Donald J. Segal, of The Segal Company, New York, NY.
Exempt Organizations
Victoria B. Bjorklund, of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, New York, N.Y.
Deirdre Dessingue, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C.
Karl E. Emerson, of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations, Harrisburg, Penn.
Sara E. Meléndez, of George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
Government Entities:  Federal, State and Local Governments
Don F. Waugh, Assistant State Controller of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.
Government Entities: Tax Exempt Bonds
Terence P. Burke, of Ernst & Young LLP, Dallas, Texas.
Perry E. Israel, of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Sacramento, Calif.
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