Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT ...

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Governmental Relationship and Communication Between the Internal Revenue Service and Indian Tribal GovernmentsIn addition to the orientation and training provided for new ITG hires, ITG specialists andmanagers are required to attend three days of internal technical training periodically,which ITG endeavors to hold annually. This training session is referred to as“Continuing Professional Education” or “CPE.” The training is held in one location for allpersonnel and is the only opportunity that ITG has for a gathering of all of its staff. Theagenda is set by the Director of ITG after soliciting suggestions from staff.ITG’s managers in each geographic region hold one regional meeting each year for allthe specialists in the region to meet together and discuss issues of common concern.The annual regional meetings are three days in length.A few specialists indicated in their responses to our survey that they havesupplemented their formal training with research on their own regarding their assignedTribes, sometimes done through accessing information regarding Tribal history from theTribes’ websites. The Director of ITG informed us that specialists and their managershave access to Indian Country Today, a well-known national newspaper covering theTribes and events and issues in Indian Country, and that she expects them to read itregularly.ITG’s work force of specialists and their managers is relatively stable in comparison withthe work force in many other groups within the IRS. ITG’s work force reports a higherlevel of employee satisfaction in IRS’s survey of its employees’ satisfaction than theaverage satisfaction level within the IRS.Assignment shifts do occur from time to time for Tribes from one ITG specialist ormanager to another, usually as a result of employee turnover. 2 ITG has lost 26members of its initial 68-member staff, approximately 16 of whom were specialists ortheir managers. Twelve of them left for promotional opportunities within the IRS and 11of them retired or resigned. Thirteen members of ITG’s staff are currently eligible forretirement and may decide to announce their retirement at any time, and several morewill become eligible for retirement over the next year. Of those currently or soon eligiblefor retirement, approximately 10 are specialists or their managers.Budgetary constraints have placed limits on new ITG hiring. ITG’s staff is currentlycomprised of 74 members, with three recent additions. ITG had hoped to add 15 staffmembers in the current fiscal year, but a shortfall in hoped for budget allocationsrequired ITG to scale back its new hiring.D. ITG’s Work Plan and Increasing Emphasis on Enforcement Activitiesin Indian CountryITG sets forth its work priorities in an Annual Work Plan that it posts on its website.ITG’s current plan can be found at .Much of the work that ITG performs involves2Assignment shifts also occur because IRS procedural rules place certain limitations on the ability of the same specialist toperform consecutive examinations of returns involving the same Tribal Government.ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TAX EXEMPT AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES (ACT) June 11, 2008 8
Governmental Relationship and Communication Between the Internal Revenue Service and Indian Tribal Governmentscontacts with Tribal Governments that are classified either as “outreach” contacts or as“enforcement” contacts. ITG defines “outreach” for this purposes as “an interaction withan ITG entity/stakeholder group on a governmental tax issue under the jurisdiction ofITG, the primary purpose of which is to educate the entity to improve their federaltax/BSA compliance, via a structured event or activity planned in advance of the actualdelivery.” Enforcement contacts are those which occur in compliance checks andexaminations.Since approximately 2005, there has been an increasing emphasis in the IRS, and inTE/GE in particular, away from outreach and toward examinations and compliancechecks. The number of examinations performed within ITG has steadily increased inrecent years, while outreach contacts have declined. The following table captures thistrend:ITG Event FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007Outreach contacts 6,360 5,400 4,133Completed compliancechecks334 226 153Closed examinations 284 466 553In our view, more and broader outreach may be needed with Tribes than with other IRScustomer groups to assist Tribes in understanding their obligations and staying incompliance, due to the uniqueness of Tribal Governments and the lack of educationalopportunities regarding Tribal tax matters outside the IRS. Also, many TribalGovernments perceive that examination rates are higher for Tribal Governments andTribal Entities than for other customer groups within TE/GE, given that there are onlyapproximately 560 federally recognized Tribes in the United States and 2,519 additionalTribal Entities, and they question whether they have been singled out unfairly forexaminations. It may be beneficial to the IRS’s relationships with Tribal Governmentsfor ITG to take advantage of appropriate opportunities to explain to Tribal Governmentsthe factors that have resulted in high examination rates in Indian Country.E. “Consultation” Between IRS and Tribal GovernmentsThe Federal Government, including the IRS, has an obligation to consult with TribalGovernments on all matters that affect them. Federal Government departments andagencies must undertake “regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration withtribal officials in the development of federal policies that have tribal implications.”Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments(Nov. 6, 2000). “Each executive department and agency shall consult, to the greatestextent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, with tribal governments prior totaking actions that affect federally recognized tribal governments. All such consultationsare to be open and candid so that all interested parties may evaluate for themselves theADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TAX EXEMPT AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES (ACT) June 11, 2008 9
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