CS-18-495 Campaign Pilot Survey

LB&I Campaign Pilot Survey

Survey Introduction

The objective of the LB&I Campaigns is to improve voluntary compliance and reduce taxpayer burden.

We are conducting this survey to help LB&I understand the effectiveness of campaigns, and assess the campaign experience from your perspective, so that we may identify areas for improvement.

According to IRS records, your organization has recently participated in this/these IRS LB&I Campaign(s):

[List of up to 2 campaigns from database]

The person who completes this survey on behalf of your organization should be familiar with the campaign(s) listed above.

Would you be a person familiar with the campaign(s)?

If you answer “No”, please pass the login and password information on to the person in your organization who is familiar with the campaign(s).

If you answer “Yes”, we thank you in advance for contributing to this research. Your input is highly valued by LB&I, and will remain completely anonymous. Please click the forward arrow to start the survey.

[Screening ends]

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all public information requests along with the address where you can send comments regarding the study. “The OMB number for this study is 1545‐1432. If you have any comments regarding this study, please write to: IRS, Special Services Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S – Room 6129, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20224.”

[Survey starts]

Campaign related questions:

Repeat Section A and Section B for each campaign (up to 2 campaigns per taxpayer contact).

The following questions relate to this campaign: <Insert Campaign name>

Section A. Soft letters

If letter for this campaign, ask this section.

Otherwise, skip to Section B.

Our records indicate that your organization received a letter from the IRS on or around <Date of letter>.

Q1. How familiar are you with this letter from the IRS?

Very familiar

Somewhat familiar
Not at all familiar [Skip to the next section]

Q2. How relevant was the letter to your organization?

Very relevant

Somewhat relevant

Not at all relevant

Q3. Please rate your level of agreement with each of the following statements regarding the letter.

Scale: Completely agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Somewhat disagree
Completely disagree

The letter was timely

The letter was informative
The letter was easy to understand
The tax issues mentioned in the letter were explained clearly
The letter clearly indicated what action our organization should take next
Our organization was motivated to act

Q4. What did your organization do first in response to the letter? Select all that apply.

We responded as instructed in the letter
We consulted a tax advisor on how to respond

We contacted the IRS contact listed in the letter

Other, please specify _____________
We took no action is response to the letter [Exclusive and skip the rest of section]

Q5. What was the next step you took as a result of the letter? Select all that apply.

We responded based on our tax advisor’s advice
My organization made changes in reporting of items
My organization modified our tax return before submitting it
We amended a tax return that had already been submitted
My organization is still investigating the issue
Other, please specify ______________
We decided that no action was necessary at this time [Exclusive]

Q6. As a direct result of this specific letter, how likely will your organization be to change future reporting of items?

Very likely
Somewhat likely
Neither likely nor unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely

Q7. Overall, how satisfied are you with the experience you had receiving and responding to the letter?

Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied

Q8. If you could change one thing to improve the experience of receiving and responding to this letter, what would you suggest?

_____________________________________________________

Q9. Thinking about your future participation in LB&I campaigns: to what extent would receiving IRS letters such as this one, help your organization with each of the following?

Scale: A great deal

Much

Somewhat

A little

Not at all

Increase compliance with tax laws
Reduce tax preparation burden
Reduce the risk of being audited in the future
Better support your tax position
Facilitate change in tax policies in your organization

Section B. Issue based examinations

If issue based examination for this campaign, ask this section.

Otherwise, skip to Section C.

Our records indicate that your organization underwent an issue-based examination as part of the campaign from <Date exam started> to <Date exam ended>.

Q10. How familiar are you with this issue based examination?

Very familiar

Somewhat familiar
Not at all familiar [Skip to the next section]

Q11. In your opinion, was the issue-based examination warranted, given the issues examined?

Yes, completely
Yes, partially
No, not at all

Q12. How satisfied are you with … (analytically we can compare to domestic survey)

Scale: Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied

The amount of time you and your organization spent working on this examination?

The length of the entire audit process from opening conference to examination closure?

Q13a. Was there a tax change due to the examination?

Yes, there was tax change

No, there was no tax change (Skip to Q14)

Q13b. Did you agree with the tax change?

Yes

No

Q14. Considering your overall experience with the examination, but without regard to the outcome of the examination, how would you rate your satisfaction with the examination?

Very satisfied

Somewhat satisfied

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

Somewhat dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Q15. If you could change one thing to improve the experience of the issue-based examination, what would you suggest?

______________________________________________________________

Q16. As a direct result of this specific issue based examination, how likely will your organization be to change future reporting of items?

Very likely
Somewhat likely
Neither likely nor unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely

Q17. Thinking about your future participation in LB&I campaigns: to what extend would issue-based examinations such as this one, help your organization with each of the following?

Scale: A great deal

Much

Somewhat

A little

Not at all

Increase compliance with tax laws
Reduce tax preparation burden
Reduce the risk of being audited in the future
Better support your tax position
Facilitate change in tax policies in your organization

Section C. Other campaign related questions:

Q18. How likely are you to attend an IRS Outreach event (e.g. workshops, meetings, IRS provided materials) as part of an LB&I campaign?

Very likely
Somewhat likely
Neither likely nor unlikely
Somewhat unlikely
Very unlikely

Q19. Which of the following LB&I campaigns are you aware of? Select all that apply.

IRC 48C Energy Credit Campaign
OVDP Declines-Withdrawals Campaign
Domestic Production Activities Deduction, Multi-Channel Video Program Distributors (MVPD’s) and TV Broadcasters
Micro-Captive Insurance Campaign
Related Party Transactions Campaign
Deferred Variable Annuity Reserves & Life Insurance Reserves IIR Campaign
Basket Transactions Campaign
Land Developers - Completed Contract Method (CCM) Campaign
TEFRA Linkage Plan Strategy Campaign
S Corporation Losses Claimed in Excess of Basis Campaign
Repatriation Campaign
Form 1120-F Non-Filer Campaign
Inbound Distributor Campaign

Form 1120-F Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 Withholding Campaign
Swiss Bank Program Campaign
Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Campaign
Verification of Form 1042-S Credit Claimed on Form 1040NR
Agricultural Chemicals Security Credit Campaign
Deferral of Cancellation of Indebtedness Income Campaign
Energy Efficient Commercial Building Property Campaign
Corporate Direct (Section 901) Foreign Tax Credit (“FTC”)
Section 956 Avoidance
Economic Development Incentives Campaign
Individual Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116)
Costs that Facilitate an IRC Section 355 Transaction
SECA Tax
Partnership Stop Filer
Sale of Partnership Interest
Partial Disposition Election for Buildings
Interest Capitalization for Self-Constructed Assets
F3520/3520-A Non-Compliance and Campus Assessed Penalties
Forms 1042/1042-S Compliance
Nonresident Alien Tax Treaty Exemptions
Nonresident Alien Schedule A and Other Deductions
NRA Tax Credits

Q20. How do you typically learn about new campaigns? Select all that apply.

Tax press (e.g. Tax Notes Today, BNA Tax Report, CCH, etc.)

CPE events

Trade groups

TEI

From a tax advisor

Announcement from the IRS (could be from an email subscription as well as the website)

Other, please specify ________________

Section D. Organization Profile:

P1. Which of the following best describes your organization type? Potential data append

C Corporation
Partnership
S Corporation
Other, please specify ____________

P2. Which of the following best describes your organization’s annual revenue?

Less than $50 million
$50 million to less than $100 million
$100 million or more

P3. Which of the following best describes your organization’s line of business? Select one. Potential data append

Arts/Entertainment
Construction
Education
Food/Hospitality
Finance and Insurance
Healthcare
Information Services
Manufacturing
Media and broadcasting
Oil & Gas
Retail
Real Estate
Software
Telecommunications
Transportation/Warehousing
Utilities
Wholesale
Other industry, please specify ____________

P4. Does your organization own facilities or assets in multiple countries?

Yes
No

P5. How many subsidiaries are in the tax consolidated group of your organization?

______numeric open end

Don’t know/unsure

P6. Does your organization have an in-house tax department?

Yes
No

P7. [If P6=Yes] How many employees are there in your tax department?

_____ numeric open end

Don’t know/unsure

P8. Who prepares your organization’s tax return?

In-house tax department [Don’t show if No to P6]
Big Four firm (e.g. KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PwC)
Other national tax firm
Regional or local preparer
Other, please specify ___________________

P9. In the past 10 years, how many of your returns have been audited by the IRS?

______numeric open end

Don’t know/unsure

This concludes the survey. Thank you for your help.

LB&I Campaign Satisfaction Survey Pre-notification letter

{LB&I Logo}

John Doe

123 Main Street

Anytown, CT 66666

Date: XXXXX

Re: [Taxpayer’s Name]

The IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) division is conducting a survey to understand the effectiveness of recent campaigns. You are selected by the IRS to participate in this survey because your organization has recently participated in one or more of those campaigns. Your input will help LB&I assess the campaign experience from your perspective and identify areas for improvement.

The person who completes this survey on behalf of your organization should be familiar with the campaign(s) listed below.

[Campaign#1]

[Campaign#2]

 

If you are not familiar with the campaign(s) listed above, please pass this letter on to the person in your organization who is familiar with the campaign(s).

 

If you are, we thank you in advance for contributing to this research. Your input is highly valued by LB&I, and will remain completely anonymous

How you can take the survey

We have hired an independent company, Pacific Consulting Group to survey organizations who recently participated in one of more of the LB&I campaigns. We estimate that it will take you about 20 minutes to complete this online survey.

• Please access the survey at www.LBICampaignSurvey.com and use this survey password: XXXXXXXX.

Questions or assistance

If you have any questions, please contact Pacific Consulting Group at XXXX@pcgfirm.com .

Verification

To verify the authenticity of our survey, please visit www.irs.gov and enter the search term “customer surveys”. The IRS Customer Satisfaction Survey page contains a list of current IRS surveys and includes a reference to the LB&I Campaign Survey.

Privacy Act Notice

The primary purpose for requesting this information is to help the IRS improve its service to taxpayers. Our authority for requesting the information is 5 USC and 26 USC 7801. Providing information is voluntary. However, if you do not answer all or part of the survey questions, the IRS and LB&I may lack information it could use to improve taxpayer service. The information you provide may be disclosed to an IRS contractor when authorized by law. The contractor is required to follow confidentiality protections required by the Privacy Act and /or Internal Revenue Code section 6103.

Thank you in advance for your interest in improving our services.

Sincerely,

LB&I Campaign Satisfaction Survey Reminder letter 1

{LB&I Logo}

John Doe

123 Main Street

Anytown, CT 66666

Date: XXXXX

Re: [Taxpayer’s Name]

Two weeks ago, you received a letter from XXXX of the Large Business and International (LB&I) Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) United States of America, asking for your assistance with an important research project. If you have already completed the survey, thank you. If not, please take a few minutes to read the following message and take the online survey.

The IRS LB&I Division is conducting a survey to understand the effectiveness of recent campaigns. The objective of the LB&I Campaigns is to improve voluntary compliance and reduce taxpayer burden. You are selected by the IRS to participate in this survey because your organization has recently participated in one or more of those campaigns. Your input will help LB&I assess the campaign experience from your perspective and identify areas for improvement.

The person who completes this survey on behalf of your organization should be familiar with the campaign(s) listed below.

[Campaign#1]

[Campaign#2]

 

If you are not familiar with the campaign(s) listed above, please pass this letter on to the person in your organization who is familiar with the campaign(s).

 

If you are, we thank you in advance for contributing to this research. Your input is highly valued by LB&I, and will remain completely anonymous.

How you can take the survey

We have hired an independent company, Pacific Consulting Group to survey organizations that have recently participated in one of more of the LB&I campaigns. We estimate that it will take you about 20 minutes to complete this online survey.

• Please access the survey at www.LBICampaignSurvey.com and use this survey password: XXXXXXXX.

Questions or assistance

If you have any questions, please contact Pacific Consulting Group at XXXX@pcgfirm.com .

Verification

To verify the authenticity of our survey, please visit www.irs.gov and enter the search term “customer surveys”. The IRS Customer Satisfaction Survey page contains a list of current IRS surveys and includes a reference to the LB&I Campaign Survey.

Privacy Act Notice

The primary purpose for requesting this information is to help the IRS improve its service to taxpayers. Our authority for requesting the information is 5 USC and 26 USC 7801.  Providing information is voluntary. However, if you do not answer all or part of the survey questions, the IRS and LB&I may lack information it could use to improve taxpayer service. The information you provide may be disclosed to an IRS contractor when authorized by law.  The contractor is required to follow confidentiality protections required by the Privacy Act and /or Internal Revenue Code section 6103.

Thank you in advance for your interest in improving our services.

Sincerely,

LB&I Campaign Satisfaction Survey Pre-notification letter

{LB&I Logo}

John Doe

123 Main Street

Anytown, CT 66666

Date: XXXXX

Re: [Taxpayer’s Name]

The IRS Large Business and International (LB&I) division is conducting a survey to understand the effectiveness of recent campaigns. You are selected by the IRS to participate in this survey because your organization has recently participated in one or more of those campaigns. Your input will help LB&I assess the campaign experience from your perspective and identify areas for improvement.

The person who completes this survey on behalf of your organization should be familiar with the campaign(s) listed below.

[Campaign#1]

[Campaign#2]

 

If you are not familiar with the campaign(s) listed above, please pass this letter on to the person in your organization who is familiar with the campaign(s).

 

If you are, we thank you in advance for contributing to this research. Your input is highly valued by LB&I, and will remain completely anonymous

How you can take the survey

We have hired an independent company, Pacific Consulting Group to survey organizations who recently participated in one of more of the LB&I campaigns. We estimate that it will take you about 20 minutes to complete this online survey.

• Please access the survey at www.LBICampaignSurvey.com and use this survey password: XXXXXXXX.

Questions or assistance

If you have any questions, please contact Pacific Consulting Group at XXXX@pcgfirm.com .

Verification

To verify the authenticity of our survey, please visit www.irs.gov and enter the search term “customer surveys”. The IRS Customer Satisfaction Survey page contains a list of current IRS surveys and includes a reference to the LB&I Campaign Survey.

Privacy Act Notice

The primary purpose for requesting this information is to help the IRS improve its service to taxpayers. Our authority for requesting the information is 5 USC and 26 USC 7801. Providing information is voluntary. However, if you do not answer all or part of the survey questions, the IRS and LB&I may lack information it could use to improve taxpayer service. The information you provide may be disclosed to an IRS contractor when authorized by law. The contractor is required to follow confidentiality protections required by the Privacy Act and /or Internal Revenue Code section 6103.

Thank you in advance for your interest in improving our services.

Sincerely,

LB&I Campaign Satisfaction Survey Reminder letter 1

{LB&I Logo}

John Doe

123 Main Street

Anytown, CT 66666

Date: XXXXX

Re: [Taxpayer’s Name]

Two weeks ago, you received a letter from XXXX of the Large Business and International (LB&I) Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) United States of America, asking for your assistance with an important research project. If you have already completed the survey, thank you. If not, please take a few minutes to read the following message and take the online survey.

The IRS LB&I Division is conducting a survey to understand the effectiveness of recent campaigns. The objective of the LB&I Campaigns is to improve voluntary compliance and reduce taxpayer burden. You are selected by the IRS to participate in this survey because your organization has recently participated in one or more of those campaigns. Your input will help LB&I assess the campaign experience from your perspective and identify areas for improvement.

The person who completes this survey on behalf of your organization should be familiar with the campaign(s) listed below.

[Campaign#1]

[Campaign#2]

 

If you are not familiar with the campaign(s) listed above, please pass this letter on to the person in your organization who is familiar with the campaign(s).

 

If you are, we thank you in advance for contributing to this research. Your input is highly valued by LB&I, and will remain completely anonymous.

How you can take the survey

We have hired an independent company, Pacific Consulting Group to survey organizations that have recently participated in one of more of the LB&I campaigns. We estimate that it will take you about 20 minutes to complete this online survey.

• Please access the survey at www.LBICampaignSurvey.com and use this survey password: XXXXXXXX.

Questions or assistance

If you have any questions, please contact Pacific Consulting Group at XXXX@pcgfirm.com .

Verification

To verify the authenticity of our survey, please visit www.irs.gov and enter the search term “customer surveys”. The IRS Customer Satisfaction Survey page contains a list of current IRS surveys and includes a reference to the LB&I Campaign Survey.

Privacy Act Notice

The primary purpose for requesting this information is to help the IRS improve its service to taxpayers. Our authority for requesting the information is 5 USC and 26 USC 7801.  Providing information is voluntary. However, if you do not answer all or part of the survey questions, the IRS and LB&I may lack information it could use to improve taxpayer service. The information you provide may be disclosed to an IRS contractor when authorized by law.  The contractor is required to follow confidentiality protections required by the Privacy Act and /or Internal Revenue Code section 6103.

Thank you in advance for your interest in improving our services.

Sincerely,

LB&I Campaign Satisfaction Survey Reminder letter 2

{LB&I Logo}

John Doe

123 Main Street

Anytown, CT 66666

Date: XXXXX

Re: [Taxpayer’s Name]

Several weeks ago, you received a letter from XXXX of the Large Business and International (LB&I) Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) United States of America, asking for your assistance with an important research project. If you have already completed the survey, thank you. If not, please take a few minutes to read the following message and take the online survey.

The IRS LB&I Division is conducting a survey to understand the effectiveness of recent campaigns. The objective of the LB&I Campaigns is to improve voluntary compliance and reduce taxpayer burden. You are selected by the IRS to participate in this survey because your organization has recently participated in one or more of those campaigns. Your input will help LB&I assess the campaign experience from your perspective and identify areas for improvement. This is the last reminder and the survey will only be available until XXX.

The person who completes this survey on behalf of your organization should be familiar with the campaign(s) listed below.

[Campaign#1]

[Campaign#2]

 

If you are not familiar with the campaign(s) listed above, please pass this letter on to the person in your organization who is familiar with the campaign(s).

 

If you are, we thank you in advance for contributing to this research. Your input is highly valued by LB&I, and will remain completely anonymous

How you can take the survey

We have hired an independent company, Pacific Consulting Group to survey organizations that have recently participated in one of more of the LB&I campaigns. We estimate that it will take you about 20 minutes to complete this online survey .

• Please access the survey at www.LBICampaignSurvey.com and use this survey password: XXXXXXXX.

Questions or assistance

If you have any questions, please contact Pacific Consulting Group at XXXX@pcgfirm.com .

Verification

To verify the authenticity of our survey, please visit www.irs.gov and enter the search term “customer surveys”. The IRS Customer Satisfaction Survey page contains a list of current IRS surveys and includes a reference to the LB&I Campaign Survey.

Privacy Act Notice

The primary purpose for requesting this information is to help the IRS improve its service to taxpayers. Our authority for requesting the information is 5 USC and 26 USC 7801. Providing information is voluntary. However, if you do not answer all or part of the survey questions, the IRS and LB&I may lack information it could use to improve taxpayer service. The information you provide may be disclosed to an IRS contractor when authorized by law. The contractor is required to follow confidentiality protections required by the Privacy Act and /or Internal Revenue Code section 6103.

Thank you in advance for your interest in improving our services.

Sincerely,