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 Governmentsspecialist combined the outreach visits with one or more enforcement visits on the sametrip.Some specialists continue to make outreach visits a priority under these constraints andthe constraints of the increasing emphasis within TE/GE on enforcement activities, byscheduling visits with other assigned Tribes located nearby when they go on the roadfor a compliance check or an examination. One specialist reported that if she has to goon the road for one purpose, she “may make six visits in a two-day period.” Anotherspecialist informed us that she recently had two days on the road and visited eightdifferent entities of three different Tribes. Another specialist reported, on the otherhand, that she “has enough to do” with the travel required by specific case assignments,so she does not attempt to schedule outreach visits to her other assigned Tribes whenshe is out on the road.Several specialists noted that the heavy emphasis on enforcement impeded their abilityto do outreach and other relationship building activities with their assigned Tribes. Anumber of these specialists expressed the hope that additional emphasis could beplaced on outreach to improve relationships and the Tribes’ overall tax compliance. Thetrend in favor of enforcement contacts may help explain the net upward trend in theagreement expressed by the Tribes that responded to ITG’s own customer satisfactionsurvey with the statement “It is hard to call and reach the Tribe’s assigned Specialist,”from 8.0% expressing agreement in 2005 to 18.0% expressing agreement in 2006 to13.5% expressing agreement in 2007. The trend in favor of enforcement contacts alsomay help explain the upward trend in the disagreement expressed by the respondingTribes with the statement “The Office of ITG provides a timely response to the Tribe’squestions,” from 5.2% in 2005 to 8.3% in 2006 to 11.3% in 2007.IV.RECOMMENDATIONSRecommendation 1: Maximize face-to-face meetings and other personal,immediate contacts; minimize contacts by U.S. mailAs noted above, the IRS protocols for its dealings with Tribal Governments specify that“[p]ersonal contact is essential to obtain an understanding of tribal perspectives andconcerns.” Many of the responses to our surveys struck this same theme. The lowresponse rate to our survey mailed to the Tribes underscores the difficulty faced by ITGin effectively communicating with the Tribes through notices and letters sent though themail. ITG should establish a firm expectation that its specialists make an in-person visitto each Tribal Government in the lower 48 states at least annually, outside of acompliance check or examination contact, and hold the specialists and managersaccountable for failure to achieve this expectation. Specialists also should offer to makean in-person visit to the Tribal Council after an election that results in new Triballeadership and after the Tribal Council appoints any new Chief Financial Officer or othernew primary IRS contact. Periodic face-to-face meetings with Tribal leadership will helpbridge the “disconnect” that may exist between the perceptions of Tribal leadership onthe one hand, and the perceptions of the primary IRS contact and ITG personnel on theother hand, regarding the state of the government-to-government relationships betweenADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TAX EXEMPT AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES (ACT) June 11, 2008 22
Governmental Relationship and Communication Between the Internal Revenue Service and Indian Tribal Governmentsthe Tribes and the IRS. ITG should use notices and letters to communicate with TribalGovernments only when absolutely necessary. If ITG sends a notice or letter, thespecialist should follow up with a phone call and an e-mail message to make sure thatthe right person has received the notice or letter and to offer to answer questions.These steps will help ensure that the notice or letter will be answered and any issue orproblem addressed.Recommendation 2: Review notices and form letters originating from ITG anddetermine whether they can be simplifiedAs noted above, many ITG specialists and managers informed us that it is a hugechallenge for ITG to get Tribal Governments to respond to written communications. Wehave heard from Tribal officials, on the other hand, that they find IRS notices and formletters to be complex and confusing, some times full of jargon and other times overlychatty. Form letters need to be clear and concise. Tribal officials are busy running theirgovernments and need to be able to understand written communications quickly so thatthey may be passed on to the appropriate person. So as a corollary to our firstrecommendation, we urge ITG to review the notices and form letters that it uses anddetermine whether they can be simplified. (We realize that some form letters comefrom Service Centers and elsewhere, not from ITG, and that TE/GE may not be in aposition to re-vamp all written communications.)Recommendation 3: Make the Treasury Department’s consultation policyavailable to the public and fully implement this policyWe cannot overemphasize the important role that consultation plays in a meaningfulgovernment-to-government relationship between the Federal Government and TribalGovernments. The absence of meaningful consultation, on the other hand, leads TribalGovernments to conclude that the federal policy of promoting Tribal self-government isa farce.We were surprised to learn about the Treasury Department’s consultation policyapplicable to regulations. We find it unacceptable that Tribal Governments generallyare not aware of this consultation policy. The IRS should send a copy of the policy to allof the Tribal Governments as well as post a copy on ITG’s website.It is also unacceptable that the policy has not been followed. It is inconceivable how theTreasury Department could possibly have concluded that the “integral part,” PensionProtection Act, and “essential governmental function” regulations would not “havesubstantial direct effects on one or more Indian tribes” such that consultation should notbe triggered under the Treasury Department’s policy. The policy should be fullyimplemented so that consultation does, in fact, occur with respect to the development ofregulations affecting Tribal Governments.Recommendation 4: Adopt and fully implement an IRS consultation policyWe believe that the IRS should reinstitute its plan to adopt a written consultation policy.In our view, the draft consultation policy that was circulated to Tribal Governments in theADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TAX EXEMPT AND GOVERNMENT ENTITIES (ACT) June 11, 2008 23
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