(Archived Content)
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today announced the selection of 102 members who will serve on the new nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). This program has been significantly expanded to all 50 states. The TAP members will represent the concerns of taxpayers and identify issues that should be addressed and provide critical input to the IRS.
“The new panel members have an important job to make sure that the IRS provides world-class service to taxpayers. Now that we have expanded the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel to all 50 states, we can ensure that taxpayers from every corner of the country will have their voices heard,” stated Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill.
Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Pam Olson, met with the new members of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. (The full text of the remarks are available at www.treasury.gov)
“On behalf of the President Bush, Secretary O’Neill, and the Treasury Department, I thank you for volunteering your time, your energy, your talent, and your experience to this effort,” stated Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy Pam Olson.
“The President has spoken of the value of volunteerism in America, and he has urged Americans to volunteer to help their neighbors, their communities, and their government. Never has this been more important. You have all volunteered to serve and your work is essential to ensuring a more taxpayer-friendly IRS.”
The TAP program will work directly with the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Office on issues identified by the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. The National Taxpayer Advocate is the taxpayers’ representative within the IRS and reports directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and to Congress through an annual report.
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) members will:
• Get direct input from taxpayers about their experiences with the IRS.
• Identify and prioritize issues of greatest concern to taxpayers.
• Make recommendations to the IRS and Treasury on customer-service issues.
• Work with the IRS to help taxpayers address key issues and concerns.
• Report annually to Treasury and the National Taxpayer Advocate.
Membership slots were determined based on the taxpaying population per state. Each state has at least one member.
TAP members are U.S. citizens who devote about 300 hours during the year to the panel. Professions represented in the membership include tax professionals (tax attorneys and accountants), professors, retired military, small business owners, and one former state legislature member.
Attached is a list of the new Taxpayer Advocacy Panel members.
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members
ALABAMA
Francis (Buck) J. Paolone
Hoover
ALASKA
Bruce Twomley
Juneau
Sherry Whah
Anchorage
ARIZONA
Gregory J. Maciulla
Tucson
ARKANSAS
Steven Wood
Little Rock
CALIFORNIA
Norma Bishop
Santa Barbara
Yvonne Gallegos-Bodle
Oxnard
Curtis Feese
Covina
Cheyanna L. Jaffke
Placentia
Christopher Lowe
Placentia
Michelle Nelson
Mission Viejo
Howard Perkins
Suisun City
Charles Taylor
San Diego
COLORADO
Richard A. Cormier
Alamosa
DELAWARE
Patrick McCombie
Wilmington
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Theodore Perros
FLORIDA
Mary Lou Beyreis
Jacksonville
Gwen Handelman
Ft. Lauderdale
Edward Hanna
Temple Terrace
Keith Johnson
Jacksonville
Sharon Lassar
Miami
Owen Oatley’
Holly Hill
George Sullivan
N Fort Myers
GEORGIA
Charlotte Cassady
Talbotton
Tim D. Jarrell
Kennesaw
HAWAII
Clayton Agena
Honolulu
ILLINOIS
Robert M. Burke
Chicago
Robin Gausebeck
Rockford
Richard Greenberg
Hinsdale
Lawrence Lexow
Edwardsville
INDIANA
Carl Hansen
Indianapolis
Teresa Smedley
Salem
IOWA
Denise Bigger
Albia
KANSAS
Nan Wilson
Overland Park
LOUISIANA
Helen Curol
Lake Charles
MAINE
Catherine J. Kelly
Corinth
MARYLAND
George Pruchniewski
Baltimore
Faith Vinikoor
Baltimore
MASSACHUSETTS
Charles W. Silva
Orleans
MICHIGAN
Leslie R. Malcolmson
Detroit
Nancy Quarles
Southfield
MINNESOTA
Laura De Marais
Minneapolis
Thomas P. Seuntjens
Wayzata
MISSISSIPPI
Phil Bryant
Brandon
MISSOURI
Linda Bader
Chesterfield
Kenneth Logan
Blue Springs
NEVADA
Justin Doucette
Las Vegas
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Abigail Alicea
Nashua
NEW JERSEY
Anthony DiMartino
Toms River
Robert Maziarz
Hainesport
David Meyer
Voorhees
Leonard Steinberg
West Windsor
NEW MEXICO
Mario Burgos
Cedar Crest
NEW YORK
Aimee Gomlak Brace
Buffalo
Walter Fish
Bellmore
James Grimaldo
Brooklyn
Paul Nagel
Glen Cove
Shamsey Oloko
Staten Island
NORTH CAROLINA
Mary Balmer
Chapel Hill
C. Morgan Edwards
Charlotte
NORTH DAKOTA
Paul W. Smathers
Edgeley
OHIO
Brig Gen. (ret) James Abraham, P.E.
Gahanna
Frank Claudman
Warrensville Heights
Thad Davis
Van Wert
OKLAHOMA
Patrick Castleberry
Oklahoma City
OREGON
Virginia Symonds
Portland
PENNSYLVANIA
Gerald G. Gensiejewski, Jr.
Newtown
Manning Mosley, III
Wayne
Doreen Scott
Pittsburgh
RHODE ISLAND
Diane Mignano
North Kingstown
SOUTH DAKOTA
John Hollingsworth
Aberdeen
TENNESSEE
Larry Barnard
Morristown
Linda Miller
Memphis
TEXAS
Maria J. Hermann-Pariente
El Paso
Roejeana Warren
Dallas
Lillian Woo
Bryan
UTAH
Sharon Stetz
Salt Lake City
VERMONT
Ekileen Shuman
Brattleboro
VIRGINIA
Karen Kerrigan
Vienna
Calvin K. Johnson
Norfolk
WASHINGTON
Christopher Forzano
Vancouver
Joseph Reder
Richland
WISCONSIN
Daniel Drumel
Wind Lake
Glenn Hall
Madison
Robert Meldman
Milwaukee