IRS Announces New Members for Reporting Program Committee

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has announced the selection of seven new members for the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC).

The new appointees will join 13 returning members. Committee members represent the taxpaying public, tax professionals, small and large businesses, the financial industry and payroll providers.

“Information reporting requirements reach into every corner of the tax code and present major implications for both the IRS and the public,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said. “The new IRPAC members bring a wealth of insight and experience that we are fortunate to have as we seek to effectively administer the tax law.”

The following people have been appointed to serve on the committee for three-year terms beginning in 2014:

Robert J. Birch is Director of Corporate Tax at Wellmark Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa. He has over 35 years of experience with tax information reporting. Two of the companies in Wellmark Inc.’s consolidated group are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association doing business in Iowa and South Dakota. Birch is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tax Executives Institute Inc. and the first president of the IOWA TEI Chapter.

Beatriz Castaneda is Director Client Reporting at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. in San Francisco. She has 14 years of tax reporting experience at Charles Schwab. Castaneda is a member of the Financial Information Forum (FIF) Cost Basis Working Group and FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) Group. She is also a member of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Tax Compliance Committee and Cost Basis Working Group.

Ernesto S. Castro is Manager of Government Relations at Ultimate Software Group Inc. in Santa Ana, Calif. He has more than 20 years of experience working with tax information reporting with a concentration in compliance and problem resolution. Castro is a founding member of the National Association of Tax Reporting and Payroll Management.

Roseann M. Cutrone is Tax Counsel with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, in Washington, D.C. She has worked for 27 years as tax counsel with information reporting and withholding issues. Cutrone has represented clients including large domestic and foreign commercial banks, investment funds and other entities with respect to all aspects of their information reporting and withholding obligations.

Carolyn Diehl is Tax Compliance Officer and Vice President with National Financial Services, LLC, a Division of Fidelity Investments, in Jersey City, N.J. She has worked in the financial industry for more than 35 years as both a tax preparer and compliance officer for a leading financial services firm specializing in high net worth clients and as a compliance officer for a large broker/dealer organization. Diehl is a member of the SIFMA tax compliance committee and participates in dialogue on cost basis and FATCA with the Financial Information Forum (FIF).

Michael W. Gangwer is Associate Tax Advisor in the Legal Department of The Vanguard Group, Inc. in Valley Forge, Pa. He has worked at Vanguard in information reporting for more than 10 years. He currently serves as the lead technical consultant for information reporting and tax withholding for Vanguard’s retail, institutional retirement and brokerage tax reporting and cost basis departments. Gangwer is a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, Investment Company Institute and the Securities Institute and Financial Markets Association.

Darrell D. Granahan is Vice President, Payment at First Data Corp. in Omaha, Neb. He has worked for First Data Corp. for 17 years. First Data is an electronic payment facilitator/payment settlement entity. Granahan serves on Thomson Reuters – ONESOURCE Tax Information Reporting Advisory Board, is a member of Information Systems Audit and Control (ISACA), and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

The 2014 IRPAC Chairman is Boyd Brown, Benefits Tax Counsel in the Global Tax & Trade group at Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif. He has worked for more than 20 years in the compensation and benefits area. Brown serves as tax counsel supporting Human Resources, Compensation & Benefits, Payroll, Legal, HR Legal, and Compensation & Benefits Accounting. He is an adjunct faculty member with Georgetown University Law Center, teaching courses in taxation of fringe benefits and nonqualified deferred compensation.

The IRPAC was established in 1991. The committee’s purpose is to provide an organized public forum for discussion of relevant tax administration issues between IRS officials and representatives of the public.