Advisory Committee Recommends IRS Improve W-9, E-Signatures, and More

The Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC) has issued its annual report for 2018 including numerous recommendations to the Internal Revenue Service on new and continuing issues in tax administration.

The report includes a discussion on how to implement and/or improve processes such as those for the Change of Business Master File Entity Addresses, E-Signature for Form W-9 as well as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The report also recommended enhancements to the Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) System, Practitioner ID and Internal Revenue Code 6050S and Form 1098-T Reporting. During 2018, the committee continued its dialogue with IRS officials regarding reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and made extensive recommendations regarding both programs.

These recommendations are discussed in detail in the full 2018 IRPAC Public Report, available on IRS.gov.

Commissioner Chuck Rettig and senior IRS leaders also thanked four members of the committee ending their terms this year:

Kevin Sullivan – Sullivan is managing director and tax executive at Bank of America where he is the head of U.S. Information Reporting Advisory in the Global Tax Policy group. In this capacity, he manages a team of tax advisors responsible for U.S. withholding and information reporting advisory throughout Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Kelli Wooten – Wooten is a managing director with KPMG LLP. She advises both multinational corporations and financial institutions on their compliance with information reporting and withholding rules such as the FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
Terry Edwards – Edwards is director of information reporting consulting with Wells Fargo Bank. He has been a member of the American Bankers Association’s Information Reporting Committee since 2009 and chair of the committee in 2015 and 2016.
Laura Burke – Burke has been a tax professional for over 17 years. She is an enrolled agent, provides tax resolution solutions and prepares tax returns for individual, corporate, partnership, LLC series, estate and not-for-profit taxpayers. She has managed a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site and is a lead instructor.

IRPAC is a federal advisory committee that provides an organized public forum for discussion of information reporting issues. It is comprised of a diverse cross-section of individuals drawn from the tax professional community, financial institutions, small and large businesses, universities and colleges and securities and payroll firms.

Advisory