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Suitable for Use Inside the IRS Only



THE IRS CROWN JEWELS?
By Michael Ravnitzky , mikerav@ix.netcom.com

What does the Internal Revenue Service tell its employees that it won¹t tell
the public?  Quite a bit, as it turns out from a review of the list of
materials on the IRS intranet website, dubbed:  "IRSinsider" and until now
available only to IRS staff.  Here are a few of the highlights, any or all
of which you can request from the IRS.  Note that a couple of the items have
recently been withdrawn from the internal website, but the Service retains
copies of all of these materials in paper and/or electronic form.  Be
extremely skeptical if you are told that any of these documents or serial
publications does not exist at the IRS.  To the best of my knowledge, few if
any of these IRS publications have ever been provided to anyone outside the
agency.  Each of the items described below was listed on the IRS internal
website this summer, but to the best of my knowledge, none are listed on the
IRS Public website.

Modernizing the IRS
Helpful Tips When Applying for Vacancy Announcements
Reminder to Managers Regarding Chief Counsel Applicants
A Microsoft Word version of the IRS Regional Office Directory
IRS Personnel Policies
Commissioner¹s Complaints Processing & Analysis Group (CCPAG)
List of Employee Organizations
Intranet Standards
Preparing requisitions with Disclosure and Privacy Act Implications
Treasury Internet Use Policy
Group managers¹ meeting March 7-9, 2000
Nonfiler Strategy
Background Investigations Program
Legislative Affairs Division
Commonly Requested Internal Forms ­ by Type of Form
Commonly Requested Internal Forms ­ by Form Number
New Directions, a newsletter.  You can request the last XX issues of this
newsletter
Straight Talk, a newsletter.  You can request the last XX issues of this
newsletter
IS@IRS, a newsletter.  You can request the last XX issues of this newsletter
Leader¹s Digest, a newsletter.  You can request the last XX issues of this
newsletter.
Key messages for FY99 ­ Document 9337 (Rev. 10-98)
Key messages for FY 2000
Office of Audit FY 2000 Audit Plan
Audits to Assess Tax Administration ­ Annual Plan FY99
Employee Training History Report
Training Catalogue for Headquarters Employees

These would not seem to be the type of documents which would cause any
foreseeable harm upon release, yet this is precisely the type of internal
documentation that the IRS has been so fanatical about preventing public
release, and which they have claimed IRC Section 6103 protection, despite
clear laws to the contrary.  Section 6103 protects taxpayer information, but
the IRS has historically used this statute to exempt any documentation that
describes the agency, particularly that documentation which shows the agency
in an unpopular light.

Here is the address from which to request these records:

Internal Revenue Service
Thomas Marusin
Director, Freedom of Information
Office of Disclosure
1111 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC  20224

In your letter, make sure that you mention the Freedom of Information Act,
that you specify which records you want, and that you have a sentence
indicating that you are willing to pay, if necessary, reasonable fees up to
$25 without additional permission.

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