The beauty, the genius, the miracle of the work of this Arizona Forum for Improvement of Taxation lies in the statement of operating guidelines:  "Working committees headed by a Board member should be un-tethered by bureaucratic tape in pursuing the objectives of the committee.  Controversial issues should be addressed.  Minutes of the committee meetings should be provided to the Secretary of the Board.  Final documents/positions/comments should receive concurrence from the Board."

 Attendance at committee meetings continues to reflect Division Chiefs of IRS and ADOR, officers of the member organizations and competent tax professionals who represent the professional tax community and the taxpayers of Arizona.  A partial listing of the accomplishments of the committees will be included in this report.

 A representative of IRS to AFIT states that at AFIT an issue can be brought out by any tax organization so that the issue can be taken back to the agency for discussion of the spectrum of consequences of possible action.  AFIT provides a forum for contacts between the IRS and the state agency, ADOR at committee and board levels.

 An ADOR representative as liaison to the AFIT board likes this forum as a place to solve problems before issues grow and before bad will occurs widespread.  He expresses that even if a solution is not possible, then a compromise can be reached.

 At a meeting of veteran AFIT members, the tax practitioner community expressed that the greatest benefit to themselves and the taxpayers they represent is the opportunity to work directly as equals with Division Chiefs at IRS and ADOR who have the same interests in solving problems and understanding issues that affect Arizona taxpayers as we do.