The Internal Revenue Service is now accepting applications for the IRS Advisory Council (IRSAC), which provides “a public forum for IRS officials and representatives of the public to discuss relevant federal tax administration issues,” according to last week’s announcement. The IRS will appoint up to seven of the 35 IRSAC members for three-year terms beginning in January 2013; the council members submit an annual report to the IRS commissioner at a public meeting in the fall.

In prior years, Jay E. Fishman (Financial Research Associates) represented the BV community and its concerns on the IRSAC and Will Frazier (HFBE) served four years on the IRS’s Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee. “It’s always good for a valuation person to apply [to the IRSAC],” Fishman says, even though “most of the issues are unrelated to valuation.” During his membership (2007-2010), Fishman floated the idea of forming a group dedicated to valuation, “but it gained no traction.”

“Several of ASA's most important government relations initiatives involved IRS and tax-related valuation issues,” says Peter Barash, government relations consultant to the American Society of Appraisers. “From my perspective, there's only an upside to having the BV community represented on IRSAC.” Even though the council and the IRS decided not to establish a valuation subcommittee, “Jay and Will accomplished a great deal by getting the committee to focus on a couple of important valuation issues and to include, in the reports they issued, some recommendations positive to the professional appraisal community,” Barash says. “Equally important, having two valuation professionals on IRSAC did not go unnoticed by the senior IRS bureaucracy and brought the profession and the importance of tax-related valuation issues to their attention. So I would encourage any BV appraiser who practices in the tax area and who has the time to devote to this kind of service to apply.”

Applications will be accepted through June 15, 2012; for more information, visit the IRS’s Tax Professional’s Page. Questions about the application process can be sent to: *public_liaison@irs.gov.