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Part 1. Organization, Finance and Management

Chapter 4. Resource Guide for Managers

Section 5. Corporate Tax Administration Tools

1.4.5  Corporate Tax Administration Tools

1.4.5.1  (07-07-2009)
Electronic Research Program Strategy

  1. In 1999, IRS adopted a strategy for national standardization and management of commercial research services in order to provide consistent and reliable access to research materials. IRS and NTEU made a commitment to standardize and expand availability of research tools to all levels of the organization, especially to frontline employees for whom this research is essential in their daily work. The goals were to:

    • Improve access to commercial Electronic Research

    • Provide products tailored to IRS needs, and

    • Maximize the benefit of available resources.

  2. The first contracts were awarded in 1999. For the first time ever IRS had consistent access to research materials and employees could depend on unlimited access throughout the year.

  3. The following describes the types of electronic research available to IRS employees:

    Category Description
    Tax and Legal Research Internal Revenue Code, income tax regulations, IRS administrative decisions, IRS forms, Internal Revenue Manual, federal tax judicial decisions, commercial tax services, and tax related books, treatises and periodicals, and other non-tax legal, news, and business sources
    Asset and Locator Services Credit bureau reports, judgments, verdicts, liens, bankruptcy data, real property records, state incorporation and corporate officer/principal information, corporate asset data, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records where available, etc.

  4. IRS manages these contracts on a corporate level. The Office of Servicewide Policy, Directives, and Electronic Research (SPDER) is responsible for contract administration for all electronic research contracts except:

    • The credit bureau contract, which is owned by SBSE

    • Certain "local" Asset and Locator contracts, which are owned by the requesting division

1.4.5.2  (09-04-2007)
Electronic Research Defined

  1. "Electronic Research" is the use of computers to gather information needed to complete a full analysis of a tax return, whether as part of the audit process, collection process, or assistance process. Electronic research includes the following categories of material:

    • Tax Law and other Legal sources, including IRS materials

    • News and Business

    • Asset and Locator

  2. The quality of field investigations has direct impact on fair and impartial administration of the tax laws, protection of taxpayer rights, and the collection of the proper revenue from assigned cases. IRS employees commonly use research to determine a defensibly "correct" conclusion to a tax question.

  3. Expanded access to electronic research improves the quality of cases, assists in the fair application of the laws, and helps front line assistors resolve taxpayer questions.

  4. While paper research products may still be purchased, there are several advantages to using electronic research:

    1. Employees have immediate access to current procedures, forms, documents, agency decisions, regulations, related court cases as well as primary sources and secondary sources for tax-related research.

    2. Time and money spent traveling to libraries and courthouses to perform research is reduced.

    3. Electronic research is faster than perusing numerous paper sources.

    4. The ability to validate references ensures research results are accurate.

    5. Improved casework and reduced research time.

    6. Consistent treatment to taxpayers is ensured, thereby improving business results.

1.4.5.3  (09-04-2007)
Electronic Research Program Leadership

  1. The Office of SPDER functions as the steward for corporate delivery of a suite of tax administration tools that includes:

    • Commercial Tax Law Research services, and

    • Commercial Locator/Asset services.

  2. In this stewardship role, SPDER provides oversight of the enterprise strategy for delivering these tools, much like AWSS or MITS provides stewardship for other corporate assets.

  3. SPDER chairs the Electronic Research Oversight Council (EROC), which has representatives from each division and function (including Chief Counsel). The EROC is chartered to provide a strategic direction for the identification and delivery of tax administration tools. This group provides a forum for division collaboration on the delivery of research services to employees.

  4. The Council serves as a decision-making body and makes recommendations on electronic research issues. Some of these issues include training, connectivity problems, content of products, and concerns expressed by users.

    Note:

    A listing of the Electronic Research Council members are posted to the ReferenceNet web site at http://rnet.web.irs.gov/rs/eroc.asp .

1.4.5.4  (09-04-2007)
Contract Management

  1. Electronic Research contracts are set up at agency level with a single funding point for all delivery orders and requisitions. These 5 year contracts allow IRS to purchase contracts at a consolidated bulk rate or volume discount, which allows IRS to provide unlimited access to all employees who need to research, at a reduced cost per person.

    1. SPDER manages the Tax Law and Asset/Locator contracts.

    2. Asset/Locator contracts for "local" or regionalized services are coordinated through SBSE.

    3. The National Credit bureau contract is managed by SBSE.

1.4.5.4.1  (07-07-2009)
Contract Restrictions

  1. A key component of IRS' standardization of electronic research services is the intent to acquire, at the best value to the government, as much of the content for an ideal tax and legal reference library as possible through one source. Additional content will be obtained through other existing avenues such as Fedlink or GSA schedules, as necessary.

  2. Current IRS policy issued by the Office of Procurement controls the purchase of commercial electronic research services. This policy is provided in Information Request or Transmittal No. 09–03 dated April 6, 2009. It states that no commercial multi-license electronic research services, including the development of training for these services, will be purchased at any level without first obtaining specific approval from SPDER. All electronic research service requirements must be reviewed by SPDER to determine whether they are covered by the contract. This policy ensures that IRS obtains standardized research materials that best meet the requirements of the agency at the best possible cost and no duplication occurs.

  3. To review this procurement policy, access it at http://awss.procurement.irs.gov/policy/irt/irt09-03.pdf.

1.4.5.5  (07-07-2009)
IRS Corporate Tax and Legal Research Services

  1. Current corporate contracts for tax and legal research services managed by SPDER provide IRS employees with access to the following:

    1. primary and secondary Federal tax , news, business, and legal sources, presented through a portal to make it easier to access sources used most often by IRS employees.;

    2. federal tax resources on a commercial "carry-along" or portable DVD intended for employees who need to perform research from off site locations. The DVD's are published quarterly to refresh the content. They expire after 15 months, except the last DVD of the year which is an archival non-expiring disk.

      Note:

      The above products are fully linked to cited references which allow access to all research material from one place.

  2. SPDER is the single point of contact for all contract issues and is responsible for the overall management of these contracts. The EROC is used as a means of sharing division and employee issues as well as to ensure business needs are met.

  3. To obtain access to these research tools, contact your division ID administrator. The ID administrator information can be found on the ReferenceNet web site at http://rnet.web.irs.gov/rs/idadmin.htm.

  4. Access to these services is available from the ReferenceNet web site or the IRWeb under Research Center or Tax Resources as well as from division web sites.

  5. To request automatic distribution of the DVD's, update the Internal Management Document Distribution System (IMDDS) Order Point Summary Report (IMR02) for your office. Provide the following information: File 498, quantity needed and catalog number 01403V.

1.4.5.5.1  (09-04-2007)
Permissible Uses of Extracts from Commercial Research Services

  1. Copyright laws apply to data housed by electronic research vendors on their services and certain restrictions apply to the use of the material. This section describes how the IRS can use materials obtained through electronic research tools.

  2. "Fair Use" of copyrighted material has generally been defined by the courts and allows:

    1. Making multiple copies for use in a classroom

    2. Copying and inserting materials in a training document

    3. Copying, downloading and distributing materials for internal use by IRS employees

    4. Copying a document for a single person (i.e. a taxpayer or for a case file).

  3. Explicit permission is required from the vendors when their content in training materials is posted on the IRS public web site or released as part of a FOIA request. Request permission through SPDER at spder@irs.gov .

    Note:

    IRS does not have permission to otherwise redistribute content from the vendor services on any external web sites.

  4. Permission for any other uses of material obtained from an electronic research service must first be requested through SPDER at spder@irs.gov.

  5. It is highly recommended that whenever possible, one should link directly to the source documents. It is not recommended that you download and post a stand alone copy of legal source documents to internal web sites because it is difficult to keep them up to date.

1.4.5.6  (12-21-2005)
Corporate Asset/Locator and Public Records Contracts

  1. The Office of SPDER is responsible for delivering, funding, and maintaining Servicewide contracts for the asset/locator (public records) contract.

  2. Employees that are required to research public records can do so through the asset/locator tool. It provides front-line employees with easy access to public records such as real estate transactions, real property assessment information, vehicles, aircraft, as well as information on people and businesses.

  3. IDs and passwords are required for employees to access public records data. A listing of ID administrators is available from the ReferenceNet web site at http://rnet.web.irs.gov/rs/idadmin.htm .

  4. Once IDs and passwords are obtained, researchers can access public records products from the ReferenceNet web site.

  5. Batch processing of public record information like phone numbers and addressees is also available under a national contract and is user funded. Offices that need this data can contact spder@irs.gov for additional information.

1.4.5.6.1  (09-04-2007)
Local Contracts

  1. "Local" contracts may still be required for data that is unavailable from the national contract vehicles. These local contracts are obtained by all operating divisions/functions based on sources available in various localities. For example, in some states the Department of Motor Vehicles does not sell records to third-party vendors. Local contracts are predominately funded by SBSE, however, these funds are expected to cover all needs for local contracts, regardless of operating division or function.

  2. IRT 09-03 applies to the purchase of all "local" contracts. IRT 09-03 must be followed when seeking to purchase services outside the national contracts.

1.4.5.6.2  (07-07-2009)
Credit Bureau Information

  1. IRS has competitively selected a single vendor as the primary source for all credit bureau data. This contract is owned and managed by SBSE.

  2. Full Credit Reports are only available to IRS employees working balance due cases. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires this limitation. Credit Reports can be a valuable source of information regarding an individual's addresses, assets, financial relationships, and judgment/lien information where available.

  3. A credit-browser program is required to access credit bureau information. IDs are required to use the credit-browser program and may be obtained using Online 5081.

  4. Additional details about the Credit Bureau Program may be found in IRM 5.1.18, Courtesy Investigations.

1.4.5.6.3  (07-07-2009)
Court Records through WebPACER

  1. A nationwide Interagency Agreement provides IRS employees with Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). Through WebPACER, users can access case and docket information from Federal Appellate, District and Bankruptcy courts, and from the U.S. Party/Case Index.

  2. SBSE has funded the agreement to cover all users. If you do not have a WebPACER ID, you may request one using Online 5081.

  3. More information on the agreement, funding, point of contact, as well as access to WebPACER is provided from the ReferenceNet web site at http://rnet.web.irs.gov/rs/webpacer/index.htm or from http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/.

1.4.5.7  (09-04-2007)
Electronic Research Training and Reference Material

  1. Every manager is responsible for ensuring employees have access to these tax administration tools and receive the training required to use them.

  2. Information on all training products is easily accessible from the ReferenceNet web site at http://rnet.web.irs.gov/rs/training.htm.

  3. The following types of training are available:

    1. Computer Based Training - Gives you the flexibility to review the modules you need when it's convenient for you.

    2. Centra - Offers training at your desk with a live instructor via web conferencing. Recorded sessions are available for Introductory and Advanced classes.

    3. Telephonic Training - Allows for one-on-one or small group training by phone tailored to your research needs.

    4. User Guides - Contain detailed instructions on how to use various tools.

    5. Quick Reference Guides - Help you get started with the most common tasks.

1.4.5.8  (09-04-2007)
Paper Research Products

  1. The IRS' goal is for employees to conduct tax research via web-based products; however, it is recognized that employees may also need paper research materials.

  2. It is the responsibility of each operating division and function to provide adequate research materials. Factors such as employee skills, computer availability, centralized-shared libraries, etc., should be considered in determining the need for paper research products.

  3. Enterprise contracts are available for bulk purchase of universally used paper products. These contracts are managed by SPDER.

1.4.5.8.1  (09-04-2007)
Ordering Paper Research Products

  1. The following paper publications are available for ordering:

    • Internal Revenue Code

    • Income Tax Regulations

    • Tax Handbooks

  2. The IRS has five-year bulk order contracts for the code, regulations and tax handbooks. For more information on these products contact your IMDDS coordinator at http://publish.no.irs.gov/distsys/imdds/imddcoor.html .

  3. These publications can be ordered annually from the Printed Tax Reference Material (PTRM) Renewal Survey, that comes out every July. Orders must be placed by the first week in August. The survey contains instructions and is distributed to all IMDDS order points. If you have questions about the IMDDS system, call your functional IMDDS coordinator.

  4. Each operating division and function is responsible for providing funds for the number of copies of the code and regulations ordered.

  5. The SPDER Office will fund all handbooks, up to the amount budgeted for this purpose. If costs exceed the amount SPDER has received, the operating division or function has two choices:

    1. Provide additional funding, or

    2. Reduce quantity ordered.

    Note:

    Remember that the code, regulations, and tax handbooks are available electronically from the commercial vendors providing electronic tax research services


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