June 23, 2021
The The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) is a public forum made up of of 21 members who work closely with the Security Summit, a joint effort of the IRS, state tax administrators and the nation's tax industry that was established in 2015 to fight tax-related identity theft and cybercrime.
ETAAC members represent various segments of the tax community, including individual and business taxpayers, tax professionals and preparers, tax software developers, payroll service providers, the financial industry and state and local governments.
Each year, the ETAAC submits a report to Congress on IRS progress made toward achieving 80 percent goal of electronically filed tax and information returns. The committee's report also includes the status of the strategic plan for electronic tax administration, the legislative changes necessary to assist the IRS in meeting such goals and the effects of e-filing on small businesses and the self-employed.
The ETAAC presented its Annual Report to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue at a public meeting on June 23, 2021. The report groups the recommendations into two sections:
Recommendations to Congress involving the IRS budget, information return filing and federal data-sharing
Recommendations to the IRS grouped around electronic filing and cybersecurity
There are 10 recommendations with a focus on the prevention of identity theft and refund fraud:
Provide the IRS with flexible, predictable multi-year funding.
Accelerate the filing deadline for certain informational returns.
Modernize the data-sharing statutes among federal agencies.
The Form 1099 Portal should have functionality that integrates with key stakeholders at the time of rollout.
Increase the electronic filing goals.
Enhance the taxpayer experience in the IRS Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud (IDTTRF) resolution process.
Allow for greater transparency into return processing status.
Expand the taxpayer protection tools in the EFIN Toolset.
Enhance security plan guidance for tax practitioners.
Accelerate the investment in and timing of digital initiatives.
At the annual meeting, IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig and IRS leaders thanked six members whose terms are now ending:
Luanne Brown - Director of Payroll Services for Grand Valley State University
Jenine Hallings - Compliance Risk Manager for Paychex
Lynnette T. Riley - President of the Georgia Student Finance Commission and former Georgia Commissioner of Revenue
Cynthia Rowley - Retired Assistant Commissioner with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Geno Salo - Senior Director at Thompson Reuters. For the past year he served as ETAAC Chair
Matthew Vickers - General Manager of Product for U.S.-based Xero Inc.
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