

IR-2004-85, June 29, 2004

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the appointment of three key leaders in its Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE).
Sarah Hall Ingram has been appointed the new deputy commissioner of TE/GE. She will report to Steven T. Miller, who recently was named TE/GE commissioner. Prior to this assignment, Ingram was TE/GE counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel.
“We’ve made discouraging and deterring non-compliance by tax exempt and government entities a Service-wide priority,” IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said. “As recent hearings indicate, we have a lot of work ahead of us. With the appointments announced today and the recent appointment of Steve Miller, we have a strong team in place to do this work.”
“Sarah is an expert in the areas under TE/GE jurisdiction,” Everson said, “and we are fortunate to have her in TE/GE. Sarah was part of the modernization design team that created the TE/GE Division, and she brings strong management and practical skills to the position, as well as a wealth of legal expertise.”
Ingram received her law degree from Georgetown University Law School. She began her career in the former Tax Litigation Division in 1982 and served, successively, as Employee Plans litigation counsel, special counsel to the chief counsel and, starting in 1994, associate chief counsel (Employee Benefits and Exempt Organizations). She was appointed in 1999 to the new position of division counsel/associate chief counsel (TE/GE), which is responsible for providing legal services to the TE/GE Division and its customers.
Everson also announced the appointment of Martha Sullivan as the new director of the Exempt Organizations Division, responsible for administering and enforcing the tax laws that apply to more than 1.6 million organizations (including approximately 400,000 churches) recognized by the IRS as exempt from tax. “Martha brings a fine legal mind and cutting edge experience in redesigning and refocusing a compliance program,” TE/GE Commissioner Steven T. Miller said. “With our recent emphasis on enforcement in the tax-exempt sector of the economy, Martha’s perspective and experience will be invaluable.”

Before this appointment, Sullivan served as compliance director in the IRS’s Small Business/Self-Employed Division (SBSE) and most recently acted as deputy commissioner for SBSE. Sullivan began her IRS career in 1973 in the Brooklyn District. She graduated from the Brooklyn Law School and joined the Office of Chief Counsel in Manhattan in 1977. During her career she also served as regional counsel in the IRS’s Central and Western regions.
Everson also announced the appointment of Preston Butcher as director of Government Entities (GE). As director, Butcher will oversee a broad range of specialized tax administration and compliance programs that apply to government entities. He replaces Charles Peterson, who recently left GE to lead the IRS Executive Development Program.
“Preston is an ideal choice as director of Government Entities,” Miller said. “He comes to the position with a strong compliance background as the head of Employee Plans examination program. He will be in a unique position to apply that experience to GE programs, which have now been receiving increased visibility as a result of the IRS modernization effort.”
Butcher served as the director of the Employee Plans examination division since 1999. During his 30-year career with the IRS, Butcher has held assignments in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Baltimore. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Cedarville College and an MBA in management from George Mason University.
Government Entities customers include approximately 86,000 federal, state and local government employers, representing 20 percent of the American workforce, earning about $760 billion annually and paying employment taxes in excess of $200 billion. GE also oversees the tax administration and compliance needs of over 560 federally recognized Indian tribes and administers complex tax law provisions and compliance programs covering tax-exempt bonds. Tax-exempt bond value has grown to over $1.6 trillion in recent years.
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