IR-2008-69, May 1, 2008

WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service today announced it seeks applications for its broad-based private-sector advisory panel, the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC), which provides important feedback and recommendations regarding tax administration.

The 30-member panel is a diverse slice of the tax professional community including tax attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, appraisers, other tax practitioners, as well as business representatives.

"The IRSAC plays a vital role by ensuring that executives at the IRS have feedback about how our policies and actions affect the private sector,” said Doug Shulman, IRS Commissioner.

Applications will be accepted from May 1 to June 16 of this year for three Council openings that will begin in January 2009. The IRS Commissioner appoints members to three-year terms.

IRSAC was originally called the Commissioner’s Advisory Group (CAG) and was renamed in 1998. IRSAC provides an organized public forum for IRS officials and relevant members of the public to discuss tax administration issues. The panel presents a report to the Commissioner each year at a public meeting in the fall.

More information and applications are available on the Tax Professionals page of the IRS web site (IRS.gov). Questions about the nomination and application process can be sent to the following email: *public_liaison@irs.gov

Notes:

Most Frequently Asked Questions

IR-2008-70, May 7, 2008

May 9, 2008

Good morning and thank you for that kind introduction and that warm welcome.

I have been on the job for just over a month, and as I look back on my relatively short tenure, my one regret is that I did not follow the advice of several former IRS Commissioners to whom I spoke.

I sought their advice in part to understand a little better what I was getting myself into and to solicit any suggestions that might make my job easier. And, for the most part I have followed their advice and it has served me well.

But, there was one piece of advice on which they were almost unanimous — “Do not take office until after April 15^th­.”

As you may know, I was sworn in on March 24^th.

And I was quickly reminded that the end of the filing season is a prime time for Congressional hearings. Three hearings were scheduled within my first three weeks in office.

While I must admit that preparing for these hearings so soon into my tenure was not my preference, in retrospect, preparation for the hearings forced me to focus on a wide range of issues in a very short time. It also allowed to me to very quickly get to know the talented and able corps of executives at the IRS.

Also, it is nice that one of my first duties as Commissioner is to oversee the distribution of over 100 billion dollars in economic stimulus payments to appreciative taxpayers.  So, maybe my timing wasn’t so bad after all.

I am delighted to be here this morning and have the opportunity to address one of the IRS’ most important stakeholders.

IR-2008-71, May 13, 2008

WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service today reminded small tax-exempt organizations of their new annual electronic filing requirement as the first filing deadline of May 15 approaches. Organizations can file by going to the appropriate page on this Web site.

Beginning this year, most organizations whose gross receipts are normally $25,000 or less must file Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard. Previously these small organizations did not have an annual filing requirement.

“The e-Postcard is fast and easy. An organization just quickly answers a few questions online,” said Steven T. Miller, Commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division of the IRS. “It’s free, totally paperless and will help ensure integrity and transparency in the tax-exempt community.”

The first e-Postcards are due by May 15, 2008, from small tax-exempt organizations whose tax year ended on December 31, 2007. For organizations with a tax year that ends after December 31, 2007, the e-Postcard is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of their tax year.

It is important for small organizations to file the e-Postcard because, under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, if an organization fails to file for three consecutive years it will lose its tax-exempt status.

Some organizations do not have to file including organizations that are part of a group return, as well as churches, their integrated auxiliaries and conventions or associations of churches.

Notes:

IR-2008-72, May 23, 2008

WASHINGTON –– The Internal Revenue Service today released the spring 2008 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, featuring preliminary data from the 138.4 million individual tax returns filed for tax year 2006. This issue also features data on high-income returns filed for tax year 2005.

This edition of the quarterly Bulletin provides the latest view of the federal individual income tax base. For example, adjusted gross income in tax year 2006 rose 8.4 percent from the prior year to about $8 trillion, and taxable income rose 9 percent to roughly $5.6 trillion, according to the data, which may be subject to some future revisions.

This Bulletin also features articles on the following:

IR-2008-73, May 28, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service’s e-file program set another record in the just-finished 2008 filing season, while Web page visits to IRS.gov also reached new highs in part due to interest in economic stimulus payments.

“The IRS has made great strides in harnessing the power of technology to do its work more efficiently,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “The growth in electronic services helped the IRS deliver a strong filing season for the nation’s taxpayers in 2008. The increase in e-file, particularly in the final weeks of the filing season, shows that taxpayers are continuing to recognize the benefits of filing electronically.”

More than 86 million individual tax returns were electronically filed so far in the 2008 filing season, a 12 percent increase over last year at this time. By comparison, for all of 2007 just under 80 million returns were filed electronically.  In all, 60 percent of all returns filed so far this year came in through e-file.

A small percentage of the growth in e-file resulted from those taxpayers who were only required to file tax returns this year to claim their federal economic stimulus payments.

The 2008 tax season saw an increase in electronic filing among last-minute filers, a group that has traditionally filed paper returns. From April 12 to 18, the number of electronically filed returns received by the IRS was up 28 percent over the comparable week last year, even though the overall number of tax returns (paper and electronic) received during the same week was up only 9 percent.

Here are some other highlights among statistics released today:

IR-2008-74, May 28, 2008

WASHINGTON — National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson announced today that the 2009 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grant application process is now open.

The LITC grant program is a federal program administered by the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS whose employees assist taxpayers who are experiencing economic harm, who are seeking help in resolving tax problems that have not been resolved through normal channels or who believe that an IRS system or procedure is not working as it should.

Under the LITC grant program, the IRS awards matching grants of up to $100,000 per year to develop, expand or maintain low income taxpayer clinics. The program is in its tenth year and continues to expand. To date in 2008, the LITC Program Office has awarded LITC grants to 154 organizations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

LITCs are independent organizations that provide low income taxpayers with representation in federal tax controversies with the IRS for free or for a nominal charge. The clinics also provide taxpayer education and outreach for taxpayers who speak English as a second language. Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, provides information on clinics. It is available at www.irs.gov or local IRS offices.

Examples of qualifying organizations include:

IR-2008-75, May 29, 2008

WASHINGTON – The Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) will hold a public meeting next month to present to the Internal Revenue Service recommendations on ways to improve operations regarding employee retirement plans, tax-exempt organizations, tax-exempt bonds and federal, state, local and Indian tribal governments.

The ACT was established in May 2001 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to provide an organized public forum for the IRS to receive regular input on exempt organization and employee plan policy. The advisory committee consists of external stakeholders and their representatives who are appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury for two-year terms.

At the June 11 public meeting, six ACT project teams will present recommendations to the IRS Commissioner and senior leadership of the IRS’ Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE). The projects are:

• Improving the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System:A Roadmap for Greater Compliance
• The Appropriate Role of the Internal Revenue Service With Respect to Tax-Exempt Organization Good Governance Issues
• The Streamlined Closing Agreement for Tax-Exempt Bonds:A Cure for Common Violations
• Protecting Plan Benefits:Improving Governmental Defined Contribution Plan Compliance
• Tax Treatment of Cellular Telephones and Internet-Provider Allowances, and
• Governmental Relationship and Communication Between the Internal Revenue Service and Indian Tribal Governments.

The meeting  is set for June 11 at 11 a.m. at 1111 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC.