Online IRS directory on deck

The Internal Revenue Service soon will launch an online organizational directory

that will enable anyone with a specific inquiry for the tax agency to find

the name, number and office location of the IRS worker who can best answer

the question.

The interactive IRS directory will include most executives and managers

as well as a field structure and the office location of the person who is

best suited to answer certain types of questions, said Joe Sullivan, program

analyst in the IRS' office of National Public Liaison. He discussed the

directory during an IRS modernization event held Monday in Washington, D.C.

"You can come at it from a number of different angles," Sullivan said, adding

that users can choose links starting by office location, a specific division

or a unique question.

Sullivan said the site will definitely be operational by Oct. 9, but there's

a "90 percent chance" it would be up as early as the end of this week. Sullivan

and others have been working on the directory for the past two months, he

said.

The commissioners from the IRS' four operating divisions — Wage and Investment,

Small Business/Self Employed, Large and Midsize Business, and Tax Exempt

and Government Entities — gave brief demonstrations at Monday's event, which

highlighted their missions and objectives.

All four promised greater communication and education efforts through their

individual Web sites in the near future, and expressed confidence in reaching

the goal of getting most files and schedules online by 2002.

"This is a beginning, not an end," said Charles Rossotti, IRS commissioner.