WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service’s Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) will hold a public meeting on June 6, when the panel will submit its latest round of recommendations to senior IRS executives.
Seven newly-appointed members of the panel (listed below) will also be introduced at the public meeting. They will begin two-year terms and join 14 returning members.
The ACT includes external stakeholders and representatives who deal with employee retirement plans; tax-exempt organizations; tax-exempt bonds; and federal, state, local and Indian tribal governments. ACT members are appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury and generally serve two-year terms. They advise the IRS on operational policy and procedural improvements.
At the public meeting, five ACT project teams will present the following five reports that include recommendations on:
- Employee Plans: Analysis and Recommendations Regarding the Scope of the Employee Plans Examination Process.
- Exempt Organizations: Form 1023 — Updating It for the Future.
- Federal, State and Local Governments: TIN Matching as an Effective Online Business Tool to Improve Compliance.
- Indian Tribal Governments: Report on the General Welfare Doctrine as Applied to Indian Tribal Governments and Their Members.
- Tax Exempt Bonds: A Survey of IRS Forms for Information Reporting.
The ACT was established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to provide an organized public forum for discussion of relevant issues affecting the tax exempt and government entities communities.
The ACT’s public meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT on June 6, 2012, at the IRS headquarters at 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. The 2012 ACT reports will be available
on the IRS website on the day of the meeting.
Due to limited seating and security requirements, members of the public interested in attending the public meeting should call Cynthia PhillipsGrady to confirm their attendance. She can be reached at (202) 283-9954 (not a toll-free call). Attendees must have photo identification and are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes before the session begins.
The seven new members of the ACT are listed below and grouped by their relevant project team:
Employee Plans
Donna M. Mueller, Des Moines, Iowa
Mueller is CEO of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System — a state-wide public defined-benefit retirement system that has 300,000 members and 2,200 public employers; collects $755 million in contributions; pays $1 billion in benefits; and invests $22 billion in trust fund assets. She is President of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, and a member of the National Council on Teacher Retirement. Mueller received a B.A. in Political Science at the University of Minnesota, Duluth; and a Juris Doctorate from Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
David Mustone, McLean, Va.
Mustone is partner at Hunton & Williams LLP advising employers on tax, ERISA and labor law aspects of employee benefits law. His clients include for-profit employers (both publicly traded and privately held) and a variety of nonprofit and governmental employers. He is co-chair for separate IRS liaison groups on determination letter and correction programs for tax qualified plans. He served as a senior attorney in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. Mustone received a B.A. in Government from the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.; and a Juris Doctorate and LL.M in Taxation from the National Law Center, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
Exempt Organizations
Milton Cerny, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va.
Cerny is counsel at McGuireWoods representing nonprofit organizations (hospitals, private foundations, universities, and U.S. affiliates of foreign charities). He advises on tax planning and legal representation on large case and team audits regarding tax controversies before the IRS, and compliance with federal requirements on governance and private foundations. He was technical advisor to the IRS Assistant Commissioner, Employee Benefits and Tax Exempt Organizations. Cerny received a B.S. in International Relations at American University, Washington, D.C., and a Juris Doctorate from American University, Washington College of Law.
Gary J. Young, Boston
Young is director of the Northeastern University Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Research and professor of Strategic Management and Healthcare Systems, Northeastern University. Previously, he was professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, senior associate with the Lewin Group, and also served as a health care attorney and analyst within the U.S. government. Young received a Juris Doctorate and a Ph.D. in Management from the State University of New York.
Government Entities: Indian Tribal Governments
Diane M. Gange, Sequim, Wash.
Gange is CFO of Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and is responsible for the fiscal oversight of its companies, programs, and activities. She is responsible for analyzing and determining tax strategies relating to tribal business programs; advising Tribal Council on tax consequences of programs affecting its citizens; and developing policies and plans for company relations with outside firms. She has conducted training in accounting principles and governmental accounting. Gange received a B.S. in Accounting from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Wash., and an A.A. in Accounting at Peninsula College, Port Angeles, Wash.
Government Entities: Tax Exempt Bonds
Katherine A. Newell, Princeton, N.J.
Newell is Director of Risk Management and Ethics Liaison Officer at the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority responsible for developing and implementing post-issuance tax compliance policies and procedures. As a Government Finance Officers Association member, she worked with the National Association of Bond Lawyers on the GFOA-NABL Post Issuance Compliance Checklist and is a member of the GFOA’s Debt Committee. She is Chair of the Educational Facilities Panel for the annual Bond Attorneys Workshop, NABL sponsored. Newell received her LL.M in Taxation from Georgetown University School of Law, Washington, D.C; a Juris Doctorate from Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, Pa.; and a B.A. in Mathematics from Temple University, Philadelphia.
Lorraine Tyson, Chicago
Tyson is a tax partner in Pugh, Jones & Johnson, P.C.’s Public Finance Practice Group and advises clients on federal tax and securities law issues that arise in public finance and privatization transactions. She also serves as tax controversy counsel to issuers or other participants on bond deals audited by the IRS. She is a member of the Tax Exempt Financing Committee of the American Bar Association and the Tax Committee of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Tyson received an LL.M in Taxation from Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago; a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law; and a B.A. from Northwestern University.
ACT Members Continuing on the Committee in 2013
Employee Plans
- Stephen L. Ferszt, Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, New York
- David Levine, Groom Law Group, Chartered, Washington, D.C.
- Joan E. McCabe, Actuarial Designs & Solutions, Inc., Scarborough, Maine
- Adam Pozek, DWC ERISA Consultants, LLC, Salem, N.H.
Exempt Organizations
- Eric B. Carriker, Massachusetts office of the Attorney General, Boston
- Karen A. Gries, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, Arlington, Va.
- Marty Martin, Martin Law Firm, Raleigh, N.C.
- Ceila Roady, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, Washington, D.C.
Federal, State and Local Governments
- Robert Jaros, State of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.
- Lisa M. Pusich, State of Alaska, Juneau, Alaska
- Kathy M. Sheppard, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston
Indian Tribal Governments
- Holly Easterling, the Chickasaw Nation, Ada, Okla.
- William Michael Micklin, Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska; Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians, Alpine, Calif.
Tax Exempt Bonds
- J. Sue Painter, Providence Health and Services, Seattle
