Have you ever wanted to tell the IRS how to do its job? You already have a voice through the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. On June 6 through 8, St. Paul will play host to a regional meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) that will examine the submitted taxpayer issues and make recommendations to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Citizens, who are selected from among 700+ applicants each year, participate in this Panel to advise the IRS on current and proposed initiatives that focus on improving service, enforcement and tax compliance for small businesses and individuals.

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel was established in October 2002 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act as a way of improving IRS responsiveness to taxpayers needs. The panel offers a unique opportunity for citizens to influence both the American tax administration system and the organization of the IRS.

Taxpayer input is critical to helping the IRS improve customer service and operation, but many taxpayers don't know where or how to speak up, said Anne Rasmussen, Vice Chair of Area 5 TAP Region and member of the Small Business/Self-Employed TAP Committee. Rasmussen is also CFO/COO of the St. Paul-based James J. Hill Reference Library that specializes in providing small businesses and individuals with practical business information at no charge.

The Department of the Treasury recognizes that the Panels provide the essential forum for direct citizen input into Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decision-making. TAP members represent the typical taxpayer and provide the IRS with invaluable insights that are crucial to sound tax administration, said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. There are seven geographically based committees and the Panels are demographically diverse with representation from each State.

While TAP has 100 members nationwide, Minnesota has two representatives, Anne Rasmussen and Bradford Lee, who sit on TAP’s largest regional Panel comprising 18 members, which also includes representatives from Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Oklahoma.  

“The last time TAP members held a meeting in St. Paul was many years ago,” said Rasmussen. “While all TAP committees and sub-committees meet monthly via teleconference, during the summer TAP members meet face-to-face in various cities across the U.S. to examine issues and concerns in-depth.”

While visiting St. Paul, TAP members are planning to do some sightseeing around the town. “We are planning a tour of downtown St. Paul and a stroll in Rice Park including a visit to the James J. Hill Reference Library’s landmark building,” added Rasmussen.

To learn more about the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, please visit www.improveirs.org. If you have any ideas about how to improve the IRS service, please call 1-888-912-1227.

So often government statistical sites are rich in data but hard to navigate and decipher. No longer can this be said for Eurostat, the official compiler and publisher of just about all things statistical for the European Union, with the release of Statistics Explained.

Using a Wiki-type platform, Statistics Explained makes European data more easily accessible and understandable, with charts and graphs along with any background needed for understanding the numbers, links to related information, and a glossary of terms.

Statistics Explained currently features over 700 articles. To find the information you need, browse by statistical theme, category, or use the search engine.

It's rare that a website can successfully fill the needs of both novices and expert users, but

BrowserShots lets you virtually look over the shoulder of your website visitors, any of whom may be using a different web browser and operating system. These differences can have an impact on their experience with your brand.

Submit your web address, choose your screenshot options, then wait a few moments while the system works its magic. You'll be presented with screenshots of your web page as it appears on the browser(s) you selected.

You can select the specific operating systems and browser versions you want to test (from over 80 choices). You can also specify special settings such as screen size (width), color depth (bits per pixel), Java enabled/disabled, Javascript enabled/disabled/version, or Flash enabled/disabled/version.

Handy when you want to verify your website appears as you planned -- even for a visitor without the latest and greatest in operating systems or web browsers -- Browsershots.org can find a place in any DIY web designer's toolbox.

As you make your plans for the next week, please consider joining TiE Minnesota and the James J. Hill Reference Library on Thursday, February 25 at 6 p.m. to hear Dr. Dileep Rao speak about how the business banking relationship fits into and shares space with the broader challenge of financing a beginning and growing business.

Dr. Dileep Rao, author of the newly released book, ?Bootstrap to Billions,? will share a wealth of information gleaned from 28 of Minnesota's most successful entrepreneurs, many of whom are business place "household" names. Dr. Dileep Rao: an Entrepreneurial Columnist for Forbes.com, has financed more than 450 ventures and projects, managed five businesses, advised entrepreneurs, governments, and area developers, and is an award-winning professor in New Business Development in MBA programs in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Dr. Rao has a Ph.D. in business administration and has written nationally acclaimed books. Dr. Rao is an adjunct professor at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota.

The event will take place at Radisson Roseville, 2540 North Cleveland Avenue, St. Paul.

Registration fee: Hill Members $20 / Non-members $20.

REGISTER at http://minnesota.tie.org/TGS/EM/viewevent/viewEventPT?id_event=4282&from_where=chapter_homepage

Where can you find a greenhouse gas report and tools on consumer spending trends all in one place? Try the Conference Board. The Conference Board is an independent membership organization that “publishes information and analysis, makes economics-based forecasts and assesses trends, and facilitates learning by creating dynamic communities of interest.”

Its programs include: CEO/C-Suite, Citizenship & Sustainability, Economics, Human Resources, Leadership Development, Risk Management, and more. Each program includes relevant news, reports, and tools. For example, you can download the greenhouse gas report from the Citizenship & Sustainability program, or use tools to find consumer spending trends in the Marketing program.

While some content requires purchase, there is a large quantity of free content offered by The Conference Board. To check it out, visit http://www.conference-board.org/.

Use the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) to identify state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. DSIRE is actually two databases – one on renewable energy and one on energy efficiency – that you can search individually or simultaneously. There’s also a section with information on federal incentives.

You can find incentives using an interactive map, or use DSIRE’s summary maps or summary tables. Summary maps include grant programs for renewables, loan programs for renewables, rebate programs for renewables, PACE financing, and more. Summary tables include financial incentives for renewable energy, financial incentives for energy efficiency, and rules, regulations and policies for both.

There is also a library of reports, technical papers, and articles authored by DSIRE staff. To access the incentive maps, tables, and reports, visit DSIRE at http://www.dsireusa.org/.

If you’ve got long URLs that you’d really like to share, use bit.ly to shorten them first. bit.ly is a simple URL shortener that also allows you to share media files (i.e., photo or video) by uploading them to the site.

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bit.ly offers a number of tools, such as bit.ly twitter search, sidebar bookmarklet, browser extensions, a blog, and more. You can even sign up for a pro version of the service if you desire additional functionality and customization. Visit http://bit.ly/ and try it today.

You’re the Boss: The Art of Running a Small Business, from the New York Times, is a collection of resources to assist you with your small business.

Resources include articles and columns, a toolkit, guides, multimedia, case studies, and a small business advisor section organized by topic.  There’s even a business plan competition list that’s regularly updated with business plan competitions and related events.

To use these resources, visit You’re the Boss: The Art of Running a Small Business online at http://www.nytimes.com/pages/business/smallbusiness/index.html.

If you’re looking for a powerful online mapping tool, use PolicyMap to “capture data in visually powerful ways through custom maps, tables, and reports.”

Users can create and save data maps for their area(s) of interest, including neighborhoods, zip codes, cities, states, and more. Users can also create tables to compare data across locations or to study data over time, or they can create reports about specific geographies or locations.

PolicyMap is available at various subscription levels. There’s a free level, as well as standard, premium, and even student subscription levels. The free level includes datasets such as Census, Postal Service, FBI’s city crime rates, County Business Patterns, HUD, and more. Find out more about this innovative geographic information system at http://www.policymap.com/.