Tax Executive Institute--Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue liaison meeting agenda: February 26, 2013.

• Position: Calendar

1. Welcome and Introductions

2. Acting Commissioner's 2013 Priorities

3. Budget and Staffing

   1. Statistics and Expectations

      For several years, the IRS budget has declined in both real and inflation-adjusted dollars, and, absent congressional action, it may be reduced further in the coming years by sequestration or other budget cuts. At the same time, the IRS must enforce an expanding tax code and keep pace with an everchanging business environment. Tax Executives Institute has long supported adequate IRS funding and has significant concerns about the effect of the fiscal climate on the agency's ability to effectively pursue important service and enforcement initiatives in the interest of sound tax administration.

      TEI invites the Acting Commissioner to provide an update on the IRS's current budget, increases or decreases in current year staffing, and budget and staffing expectations for the next fiscal year. In addition, TEI welcomes a discussion about the impact of the sequester and significant resource drains (e.g., Affordable Care Act and FATCA implementation) on agency operations. What steps has the IRS taken to minimize the effects of budget cuts and resource drains on taxpayer services and the agency's enforcement activities? For example, the time to completion for transfer-pricing examinations, APA requests, and other complex legal issues are--from taxpayers' perspectives--already too lengthy and could be improved by the allocation of additional resources. We recognize, however, that addressing these matters may require shifting resources from other programs or priorities.

   2. Affordable Care Act Challenges

      The IRS, Treasury Department, and other government agencies are striving to meet the guidance and reporting challenges of the Affordable Care Act. While significant progress has been made (e.g., issuance of the shared responsibility payment regulations under section 4980H), much remains to be accomplished (e.g., issuance of regulations under sections 6055 and 6056 governing employer reporting obligations). We invite a discussion of the challenges ahead. Specifically, the regulations under sections 6055 and 6056 will require employers (and health insurers) to make significant information system modifications to accumulate and report data. The IRS in turn faces significant challenges in developing systems to process employer-reported data and match it against other information sources (e.g., data from insurance exchanges and the Health and Human Services Department) in order to assess employers (or individuals). We invite an update from the IRS on the status of pending ACA guidance for taxpayers, as well as the IRS's view of its readiness, especially of its information systems, to administer the ACA.

   3. Tax Reform

      In what capacity does the IRS expect to participate in the upcoming tax reform debate? For example, has the IRS been asked to address the administrability of any...