Blogs

 

President's Message – August 2020

By NCCPAP Staff
“May you live in interesting times” By Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS, National President, NCCPAP This purported Chinese curse could not be more appropriate than today. What we have experienced in the first half of this year has never been seen by most people alive today—a combination of the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1919 combined with the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The impact to our country from both economic and social perspectives has been devastating to many. Businesses have been forced to close and some may never reopen. Businesses that have begun to restart, in many cases, are not allowed to be at full capacity for various reasons, ...
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NCCPAP Endorses Regulation of Tax Return Preparers

By NCCPAP Staff
July 30, 2020— RE: Regulation of Tax Return Preparers According to the IRS, 62% of individuals who currently have a PTIN are not otherwise credentialed, meaning that there is no oversight, regulatory body or authority where individual taxpayers can file a complaint if desired. The proposed legislation to rectify the regulation of tax return preparer is S.1192/H.R.3330, “The Taxpayer Protection and Preparer Proficiency Act of 2019.” Back in 2010, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it would be regulating tax return preparers. This was challenged in the case of Loving v. IRS , in which the IRS lost by summary judgement, which was then appealed in ...
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NCCPAP Endorses S.3612

By NCCPAP Staff
July 28, 2020— RE: CARES Act, PPP Forgiveness and Expense Deductibility As the month of July comes to a close, there are several aspects of the CARES Act, that are scheduled to end, which will impact both businesses and individuals. Currently, Congress is busy working on additional legislation that would assist those businesses and individuals who are still affected by the pandemic. As this legislation is being discussed, there are two issues that we would like to bring to the attention of Congress for immediate consideration for this pending legislation. When the CARES Act was originally written, there were several portions of it that were ambiguous and ...
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June 2020 IRS Update From NCCPAP

By NCCPAP Staff
Topics Include: Economic Impact Payments, Nationwide Tax Forums, Pension Plans & COVID-19, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, and Qualified Business Income Deduction Immediate Past President and current Tax Chair, Stephen Mankowski, CPA, recently attended the monthly IRS Meeting. IRS Update The IRS is continuing to reopen its operations around the country, starting with several states in June and adding more each week; all remaining states plan to reopen by July 13. All offices remain in mandatory work from home situations, where possible. Non-portable employees will start coming in and paying close attention to any issues regarding the pandemic. ...
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May 2020 IRS Update From NCCPAP

By NCCPAP Staff
Topics Include: Update from Commissioner Rettig and COVID-19 Compliance Issues Immediate Past President and current Tax Chair, Stephen Mankowski, CPA, recently attended the monthly IRS Meeting. IRS Update You may be interested in the critical role of the IRS during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is modernizing, expanding, and meeting the needs of taxpayers above and beyond normal conditions.   Commissioner Rettig began this month’s session by reinforcing the IRS brand as patriotic—one he is proud of. During this period, the IRS enhanced usage of electronic signatures with very good results. Of 117M returns, 90.3M have e-Filed, and $245B has ...
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We Did It - H.R.7010 Passed and Signed!

By NCCPAP Staff
We did it. H.R.7010 Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 was officially passed. NCCPAP was instrumental at every stage of the process. We pointed out the issues with the PPP, wrote letters to the appropriate decision makers at the SBA and within our government, made arguments with specific suggestions, stayed on top of this, and made a difference. That's what NCCPAP advocacy is about and why we're so proud to be members of an organization that takes action—to support taxpayers and right the wrongs of unintended consequences. #New
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NCCPAP Supports H.R.7010

By NCCPAP Staff
Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 On May 28, 2020, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R.7010, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, by a vote of 417-1. The National Conference of CPA Practitioners announces its support of this legislation. When the CARES Act was passed in March, many of its provisions were designed to assist the small business owner; however, they were written vaguely and became subject to interpretation by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in a way unintended by the legislation. Other aspects did not fully take into consideration the effects of the economic shutdown across the country. ...
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NCCPAP and Capitol Hill: Key to the CPA Profession and Taxpayers

By NCCPAP Staff
Normally, May is the time where the NCCPAP (National Conference of CPA Practitioners) Board of Directors, Tax Committee, and other members go to Washington, D.C. Their purpose is to meet with members of Congress, the IRS, U.S. Department of the Treasury, and others who create the laws, and the interpretation of those law, that affect taxpayers. It is a highlight of the year, involving a twelve-month-long process to set an agenda, select those government representatives to visit, match NCCPAP members with them, and confirm in-person meetings. This year, NCCPAP will organize a small group of its members and likely visit Capitol Hill in the fall. In the meantime, ...
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NCCPAP Supports the Small Business Expense Protection Act of 2020 (S.3612)

By NCCPAP Staff
May 14, 2020— Dear Senators Grassley and Wyden: The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) wishes to express its appreciation for the efforts of you and your colleagues in the United States Senate to help small businesses across the country during the current COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, we want to give our support to S.3612, the “Small Business Expense Protection Act of 2020.” It is clear to us that when the CARES Act (H.R.748) was passed, the intent was to provide assistance to small businesses and their owners once they were able to restart their operations. On April 30, the IRS issued Notice 2020-32 stating that businesses participating ...
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Call for Immediate Action Regarding the SBA's PPP

By NCCPAP Staff
April 22, 2020— Dear Secretary Mnuchin & Administrator Carranza: As the current economic situation has developed, another action was taken by Congress to create the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This program was designed to assist small businesses in retaining their employees during the crisis by providing business owners with funds to be able to retain and pay their employees while their businesses were affected by the current situation. As you are aware, the funds allocated for this program were completely expended in a very short period of time, and only a small portion of businesses that applied were approved. A number of larger business entities ...
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Letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Carranza

By NCCPAP Staff
April 9, 2020— Dear Secretary Mnuchin & Administrator Carranza: When the current economic crisis hit the United States last month, Congress moved as quickly as possible to provide assistance to small businesses across the country, recognizing that small businesses are the backbone of our country and our economy. Yes, we do have large, multi-state, multi-national business entities today, but they all have one thing in common: when they first started their business enterprise, they were a small business. Whether those enterprises were established to develop a new product or make improvements on an existing product or industry, they were small businesses. ...
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March 2020 NPL Update from NCCPAP

By NCCPAP Staff
Topics Include: Update from Commissioner Rettig and COVID-19 Compliance Issues Immediate Past President and current Tax Chair, Stephen Mankowski, CPA, recently attended the March 2020 IRS NPL meeting. Bookmark this IRS Page for Ongoing Updates Regarding Coronavirus Tax Relief Update from Commissioner Rettig The IRS is experiencing similar concerns as we are, plus they are a vital component at this time. In addition, they will also be responsible to pay out the stimulus payments from the recently passed COVID-19 emergency bill. The IRS has over 30,000 workers telecommuting at this time. While 50% attendance is required at the IRS call centers, some centers ...
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Payroll tax credits - new law

By Steven Moss
I read in a TaxProToday posting that Treas Dept, IRS, and Labor Dept indicated that there is a refundable payroll tax credit to reimburse companies "dollar for dollar" for the cost of providing coronavirus leave to employees.  How does one file for these credits? Part of 941? Is here a new form to apply for this credit?  Steven Moss
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NCCPAP Calls on States to Follow the IRS’s Lead

By NCCPAP Staff
March 24, 2020—The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) is quite pleased with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s response to our letter calling for an extension to the tax deadline. On Friday, March 20, the U.S. Department of the Treasury responded to further requests, from NCCPAP and others, by revising their initial decision and extending the deadline for both filing and payment of taxes to July 15, 2020. “While we urged an October deadline, granting the extension to July is a very reasonable decision by the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” states Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS and President of NCCPAP, “It is now time for the various ...
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Letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin

By NCCPAP Staff
March 19, 2020— Dear Mr. Secretary: With regard to the release of Notice 2020-17, ‘Relief for Taxpayers Affected by Ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic’, I am certain that by now your office has received thousands of letters, e-mails and phone calls from CPAs, EAs, attorneys and other tax return professionals. The action taken by the U.S. Department of the Treasury with respect to the preparation and filing of 2019 income tax returns, along with any payments that would be due with those returns in many cases, does not reflect the difficulties that have been imposed on both tax practitioners and their clients by the current crisis. Businesses are being ...
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NCCPAP Featured in Accounting Today's "Tax payments deferred until July 15"

By NCCPAP Staff
As seen in Accounting Today: In a press briefing yesterday morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that individual taxpayers who owe up to a million dollars in federal taxes can defer paying until July 15, while corporations can defer up to $10 million. No specific mention was made of changing the filing deadline. “This is disappointing,” said Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS, president of the National Conference of CPA Practitioners. “From everything that was coming out, we expected they were going to grant a filing extension. But they’re not granting a filing extension – they’re granting a payment extension.” Read the full Accounting Today ...
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NCCPAP Calls for Immediate Relief for 2019 and 2020

By NCCPAP Staff
March 13, 2020—The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) today calls for the United States Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to grant immediate relief for all taxpayers due to the uncertainty of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. NCCPAP is requesting that the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury consider the following: No penalties for tax years 2019 and 2020: NCCPAP is requesting that tax returns due after March 15, 2020 neither be penalized nor have interest charges assessed. This would apply to both individual and business tax returns. With the uncertainty of the April 15, 2020 due date for 2019 individual ...
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IRS Virtual Currency Summit

By NCCPAP Staff
On Tuesday, March 3, National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) President Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS, and its Past President, Tax Chair and IRS National Public Liaison, Stephen Mankowski, CPA, attended the IRS Virtual Currency Summit in Washington, DC, hosted by IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig and Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Compliance Integration John Cardone. There were several discussion panels on topics including: Technology; A View from two Virtual Currency Exchanges (Coinbase and Kraken); Tax Preparation; and Regulatory Guidance and Compliance. Summary points of each panel are highlighted below: Panel #1: Technology Update ...
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February 2020 IRS NPL

By NCCPAP Staff
Topics Include: Taxpayer First Act, New Advisory Group for Foreclosure Notices, and IRS Vision 2020. Immediate Past President and current Tax Chair, Stephen Mankowski, CPA, recently attended the February 2020 IRS NPL meeting. At a Glance Updates SECURE Act: With the 10-year rule on inherited IRA, several charities are pushing for donations from these IRAs to mitigate the tax burden. Filing Season 2020: “Avoid the Rush” communications will be coming soon from the IRS. Updated Publications: The IRS Services Guide (5136) and many other publications, including the Affordable Care Act (5187) and Tax Reform Basics (5307) have been updated ...
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Listen to Neil H. Fishman on Close Up Radio

By NCCPAP Staff
NCCPAP President, Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS, was interviewed by Doug Llewelyn (of The People's Court ) on Monday, February 17, 2020. Neil spoke about taxpayer refunds and how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 brought significant changes to the law. With the 2020 filing season approaching, taxpayers should be concerned about compliance, now, more than ever. Listen to Neil's interview here:  https://www.blogtalkradio.com/closeupradio/2020/02/17/close-up-radio-spotlights-neil-h-fishman-of-fishman-associates #News
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