July 6, 2021—The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP), an organization representing Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and other tax professionals, announces its endorsement of H.R. 4184, the Taxpayer Protection and Preparer Proficiency Act of 2021.
This bill, once it becomes law, would grant the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the authority to regulate those who prepare tax returns. “It is gratifying to see that this legislation has been introduced once again,” said Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS, Immediate Past President of NCCPAP. This legislation was introduced in the last Congress, but because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its impact on the economy, both nationally and worldwide, it was placed on hold. The bill that was introduced in the 116th Congress did have bipartisan support in Congress, and the fact that there is bipartisan support again (with Panetta, D-CA and Rice, R-SC as the initial co-sponsors), gives hope that this legislation will be passed.
According to Mark Stewart, President of NCCPAP, “There are too many tax preparers who make serious mistakes due to a basic lack of knowledge of the tax law. Currently, a surprisingly large percentage of them have no accreditation and therefore, there is no recourse against those individuals when mistakes are made. On the other hand, for those tax return preparers who have a designation of CPA, EA, or Attorney, there is a governing body with whom to file a complaint. With the passage of this bill, those tax preparers who are not otherwise credentialed will be subject to oversight by the IRS. This could lead to the revocation of their PTINs if they have been found to be consistently committing egregious errors for which complaints have been received.”
Fishman concludes, “In this profession there is plenty of work for everyone who wishes to provide the service of preparing tax returns. Credentialed or not, it is important that everyone plays by the same rules.”
About NCCPAP
The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) is a professional organization comprised of Certified Public Accountants practicing in the United States. In addition to serving as a forum for education, networking, and community impact, NCCPAP also advocates for its clients. NCCPAP influences tax administration and tax policy by regularly meeting with Internal Revenue Service representatives, state taxing authorities, and elected officials. NCCPAP members represent over one million businesses and individual clients. The organization is headquartered in Woodbury, NY. For more information visit, www.NCCPAP.org.
#News#advocacy