The new commissioner's debut and TEI's social responsibility plan.

• Author: McDonough, Robert J.
• Position: Tax Executives Institute

During TEI's Midyear Conference, I had the pleasure of introducing the new Commissioner of Internal Revenue, not only to TEI, but the tax community. Douglas Shulman, who became the 47th Commissioner of Internal Revenue on March 24, used the Institute's conference two weeks later as the venue for his first speech.

The Commissioner came to the IRS from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the private-sector regulator of all securities firms doing business in the United States. As vice chairman, he was responsible for strategy, services and operations. He served in the same role at the National Association of Securities Dealers before its 2007 consolidation with New York Stock Exchange Member Regulation. Mr. Shulman is no stranger to the tax system, however. He served as Senior Policy Advisor and then Chief of Staff of the National Commission on Restructuring the IRS.

TEI can take pride in Douglas Shulman's choice of the Midyear for his maiden speech as Commissioner. We can and should take even more pride in what he said:

I have been on the job for two weeks and, frankly it was my intent not to make any public speeches this early in my tenure as Commissioner. Rather, I wanted to spend my time listening and learning, getting to know the people at the IRS and understanding better the issues facing the institution. However, one of the things I have come to understand is the critical importance of IRS's relationship with TEI. You are one of our most important stakeholders with a strong relationship that goes back many years. As a result, it was an easy decision for me to be here today and for you to be the first group I address as IRS Commissioner. People have described for me the cooperative relationship that we have with TEI even when we do not always agree on the issues. That relationship is premised on mutual respect and the willingness of the leaders of each organization to listen to the other. I think the basis for that cooperation is the mutual willingness to work with the other to achieve a common objective. For example, I am told that the level of cooperation between TEI and IRS on the development and implementation of the new Schedule M-3 was a model that illustrates the benefits that can be gained when the public and private sector work together. This new form, which reconciles book-tax differences, has been successful because both IRS and TEI members were willing to collaborate on the design and procedures. I also understand...