The Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee (TTAC) held its ninth meeting on October 26, 2022 at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. All six members of the TTAC were present in person and virtually. They were joined by US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen for opening remarks, and Treasurer of the United States, Chief Lynn Malerba, for the duration of the meeting. Key federal partners from various offices within Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service were also represented at the meeting.

The meeting focused on welcoming the three newest members of TTAC, the appointment of new technical advisors, the official submission of the GWE report, filling vacant chair seats in committees and subcommittees, and federal updates.

Background for the TTAC

The Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-168) was signed into law by the President in September 2014 and required the establishment of a seven-member TTAC. The committee members have a broad mandate to “advise the Secretary on matters relating to the taxation of Indians.” Among the duties, the TTAC helps establish training and education programs for Internal Revenue Service field agents who work with tribal governments and tribal finance professionals. NAFOA serves as a supporting organization for the TTAC.

TTAC Meeting Summary

Treasury Opening Remarks

• Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Treasurer of the United States Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba delivered remarks.

TTAC Chair and Vice Chair Appointments

• Chairman W. Ron Allen was nominated and elected chair of the TTAC.
• Sharon Edenfield was nominated and elected vice chair of the TTAC.
• Jean Swift was nominated and elected co-chair for the TTAC Subcommittee on Dual Taxation.
• Will Micklin and Stephanie Williams were nominated and elected co-chairs for the TTAC Subcommittee on Tribal Pensions.

Appointments of Technical Advisors

• Chairman W. Ron Allen motioned to nominate Kellen Moore, Policy Communications Specialist, NAFOA as his technical advisor.
• Stephanie Williams motioned to nominate Robert Yoder, Attorney at Yoder & Langford, as her technical advisor.
• Jean Swift motioned to nominate Charles Furguson, Controller at Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, as her technical advisor.

Federal Updates

• Social Security Administration will establish an Office of Native American Partnership (ONAP) within the Office of the Commissioner with Nancy Berryhill serving as the office’s acting director.
• Telly Meier, program manager of Indian Tribal Governments (ITG) at the IRS, gave updates, announced new IRS employees, and announced the new IRS website: IRS.gov/tribes. 
• Chief Counsel of IRS Employee Benefits, Exempt Organizations and Employment Taxes (EEE), Rachel Leiser Levy, announced the latest updates.

Subcommittee Updates

• The TTAC approved GWE Subcommittee Report and Treasury announced that they will schedule and hold a consultation on the report.

Future Plans

• The TTAC plans on meeting either three or four times in 2023. With the first meeting planned for early next year. Registration and other announcements will be sent out as it is available.

NAFOA is pleased to continue working with the TTAC and coordinating with other national and regional inter-tribal organizations to further our common goal of making tax policy and programs work for Indian Country. To provide comments directly to the TTAC, you can contact TTAC@treasury.gov.

A copy of the meeting minutes from this TTAC meeting will be made available to the public through the Department of the Treasury’s TTAC page. The website also contained meeting minutes and public comments from previous meetings.