U.S. liaison meeting minutes.

• Position: Recent Activities

TEI President David M. Penney announced the publication of the minutes of liaison meetings with government officials from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and his senior staff, to IRS Large Business & International Division officials, and representatives of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy. The meetings, held February 29 to March 1, 2012, are a staple of the Institute's annual advocacy efforts.

Remarking on the publication of the minutes, Mr. Penney observed that "minutes of our liaison meetings is an important exercise, but a formal record will rarely capture the spirit, tenor, and tone animating the meetings." The collegial and constructive dialogue, which is a hallmark of the meetings, he said, "is owing to the professionalism of both sides and our mutual commitment to collaborative tax administration, especially given the sometimes adversarial nature of taxpayer-tax administrator relations." He added that IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman had confirmed the importance of the liaison meetings to...