COVID-19 Topics

“It Was the Best of Times; It Was the Worst of Times.” By Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS, National President, NCCPAP September 3, 2020—As I write this message, Congress is on its annual summer break for the month of August and will not return until September 8. When they return, they will only be in session for about four weeks, and then they will be out campaigning for the upcoming election on November 3. While the results of that election remain to be seen, we are seeing divisions ... Read More

“May you live in interesting times” By Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS, National President, NCCPAP 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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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. ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More