Acronymic assembly: COT-IRS annual meeting.

• Author: English, Damien B.M.
• Position: Fed Tax - CalCPA's Committee on Taxation and Internal Revenue Service

Most of this year's annual liaison meeting between CalCPA's Committee on Taxation (COT) and the IRS focused on the more than 40 questions prepared and submitted by COT members and answered by select members of the IRS. Vivian Draughon, IRS stakeholder liaison area manager for California, Nevada and Hawaii, started off the meeting with a few facts and figures.

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Draughon said the IRS brought in $2.7 trillion in tax revenue last year, 15 percent of which from corporations. She added that while there are 100, 000 employees in the IRS, that number pales in comparison to the 1.2 million tax preparers that prepare returns each year. Only 13 percent of the income tax returns filed are prepared without any assistance.

In regulatory news, Draughon pointed out that the Internal Revenue Code has four times more words than "War and Peace"; moreover, she added that there are 17 legislative measures in the pipeline that will affect the tax code. Brace yourselves.

She also discussed IRS staffing issues. It seems 39 percent of executives and 60 percent of managers in the agency are going to be eligible for retirement in the next year, which will create a large void to fill. The IRS is looking both internally and externally for people to fill these positions.

Taxpayer Advocate and Identity Theft Help

John Tam, acting area 7 director for the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), explained that the TAS is an independent organisation within the IRS, led by the National Taxpayer Advocate that helps individual and business taxpayers resolve problems with he IRS by:

* Ensuring that taxpayer problems not resolved through normal IRS channels are promptly and impartially handled;

* Assisting taxpayers who are facing hardships;

* Identifying issues that impact taxpayer rights, increase taxpayers burden or otherwise create problems for taxpayers, and bringing these issues to the attention of IRS management; and

* Recommending administrative and legislative changes through the National Taxpayer Advocate's Annual Report to Congress.

You can reach the TAS by calling toll-free, 1-877-777-4778, or filing Form 911, Request for Taxpayer Advocate Assistance.

Tam also pointed out that a new IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit opened Oct. 1. Victims of identity theft can call a dedicated toll-free number, (800) 908-4490, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m, -8 p.m., local time and:

* Verify taxpayer identity and identity theft;

* Self-report identity theft before it...