Management Veterans Selected to Assist New IRS Acting Commissioner Werfel

1.  Management Veterans Selected to Assist New IRS Acting Commissioner Werfel; Maloy, Grams, Fisher Named to Senior Posts

The Internal Revenue Service announced the selection of several senior leaders to assist new Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. Heather Maloy will handle the responsibilities of Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, W. Todd Grams will be Chief of Staff and David Fisher will serve as Senior Advisor to the Acting Commissioner and Chief Risk Officer.

Due largely to low usage, the IRS will retire and remove the Disclosure Authorization (DA) and Electronic Account Resolution (EAR) applications from e-Services effective Aug. 11.

Last year, users submitted less than 10 percent of all disclosure authorizations through the DA application. Similarly, only three percent of all account-related issues came in through the EAR application.  

In anticipation of this change, the IRS has increased the number of employees who process authorizations and has improved internal work processes to decrease the average processing time significantly from the current 10-day processing period. 

The IRS will continue to explore better ways to reduce processing time and improve overall service to the users.  However, current budget cuts will impact their dedicated resources to this program and they are working to determine the impact on processing time.

Once IRS removes the two applications, former DA users will need to complete Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, or Form 8821, Tax Information Authorizations, and mail or fax it to the appropriate IRS location listed on the form s instructions. Please allow at least four days for the authorization to post to the IRS database before requesting a transcript through the Transcript Delivery System. Former EAR users should call the Practitioner Priority Service at 1-866-860-4259 for help resolving account-related issues.

The IRS continues to look for ways to improve its current processes and is exploring an improved electronic solution for DA and EAR in the future.

FEMA has added multiple counties to the recently declared Illinoisdisaster areas.

This online workshop has updated content, enhanced navigation and interactive features to help your small business clients learn about their tax responsibilities.

Headliner Volume 341 has more information.

Review the Final Rule on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report (FBAR) Responsibilities, published Feb. 24, 2011, to determine if your clients need to file TD F 90-22.1, FBAR, by June 30, 2013.

If you have FBAR questions, please emailFBARquestions@irs.gov.

Register now for this June 18 webinar,  Small Business Owners: Get All the Tax Benefits You Deserve. The webinar will include information on:
"  Business expenses and deductions
"  Business tax credits
"  The latest facts  on the American Taxpayer Relief Act

Register now for this June 20 webinar,  Avoiding the Top Tax Mistakes that Small Businesses Make. The webinar will include information on:
"  Good recordkeeping strategies 
"  How to choose a tax preparer 
"  Helpful tax information resources

Sign up for this phone forum and learn about the upcoming 403(b) Pre-Approved Plan Program. Join IRS tax law specialists as they discuss the new program, which is outlined in Revenue Procedure 2013-22 and set to open June 28. If you have a specific question that you would like us to address, please email us atep.phoneforum@irs.gov by June 18.

Revenue Ruling 2013-14 describes a typical fideicomiso or Mexican Land Trust (MLT) and concludes that the arrangement is not a trust within the meaning of § 301.7704-4(a).