“[You] ask people, okay, if you had the choice between trying to find the answer to a government question online, yourself, or just picking up the phone and calling somebody, which would you prefer? Sixty percent of people say they prefer to pick up the phone, including half of millennials.”
— Rick Parrish, Senior Analyst serving Customer Experience Professionals, Forrester Research, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., Washington, DC Public Forum: 5/17/2016
The public forums provide an opportunity for the National Taxpayer Advocate to hear from taxpayers through panel discussions with congressional and community representatives and comments from the audience. In addition to written statements submitted by panel members, each forum has been transcribed to make sure there is a written record of all discussions on taxpayer needs and preferences when dealing with the IRS. The National Taxpayer Advocate will use these recorded conversations to further the discussion of the IRS future state vision and to ensure that U.S. taxpayers have a voice in the process. Transcripts are listed by city and date below:
San Antonio, TX (August 20, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Member of Congress, 35th Congressional District, Texas
- Full Transcript
Los Angeles, CA (August 22, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Rep. Xavier Becerra, Member of Congress, 34th Congressional District, California
- Full Transcript
Portland, OR (August 18, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson
- Full Transcript
Parma, OH (August 16, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Rep. Jim Renacci, Member of Congress, 16th Congressional District, Ohio
- Full Transcript
Washington, DC (May 17, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson
- Full Transcript
Baltimore, MD (May 13, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Senator Ben Cardin, United States Senate, Maryland
- Full Transcript
Red Oak, IA (May 5, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Senator Charles Grassley, United States Senate, Iowa
- Full Transcript
Harrisburg, PA (April 8, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Senator Bob Casey, United States Senate, Pennsylvania
- Full Transcript
Hendersonville, NC (April 4, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Rep. Mark Meadows, Member of Congress, 11th Congressional District, North Carolina
- Full Transcript
Bronx, NY (March 18, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Rep. Jose E. Serrano, Member of Congress, 15th Congressional District, New York
- Full Transcript
Chicago, IL (March 9, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Rep. Peter Roskam, Member of Congress, 6th Congressional District, Illinois
- Full Transcript
Washington, DC (February 23, 2016)
- Hosted by: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson
- Full Transcript