By Norman Gastman

As a member of the New York State Society of CPAs’ Relations with the Internal Revenue Service Committee, I am writing this article to bring to your attention a service that is available through our committee to members of the
NYSSCPA.

Several times a year, members of our committee meet with IRS officials. The purpose of the meetings is twofold. The IRS discusses its responsibilities and progress with the ongoing internal changes mandated by the IRS Restructuring and Tax Reform Act of 1998 (IRRA) in connection with processing tax returns, collections and dealing with taxpayers’ issues, among other items. And part of the committee’s role is to bring to the table systemic tax issues that have failed to be resolved in an efficient and timely manner and to emphasize the need for IRS management to train IRS personnel regarding IRRA objectives.

These discussions, which stem from concerns raised by the committee, include our ideas on how to resolve issues between the IRS and the practitioner. The committee feels confident that the problems it points out are only the tip of the iceberg, however. Therefore, we are asking the rest of the NYSSCPA membership to assist us in helping to resolve a number of problems that are systemic in nature by presenting them, when appropriate, at our periodic meetings with IRS officials.

If you have a problem or tax issue that you have had difficulty resolving, please fax Nellie Gomez, NYSSCPA committees manager, at 212-719-8499 or ngomez@nysscpa.org, with a full description in general terms of the situation, including any documentation that supports your position. Please do not send any information regarding the taxpayer. In the subject line of the fax or e-mail, please write Attention: Norman Gastman.