Have you checked out my column of daily tax tips at MARKETSTREET.COM yet?
* I begin this installment of the BUZZ by imploring you to follow the advice of OUR TAXING TIME’S Trish McIntire and “Be Nice to Your Tax Preparer”.
* A new tax blog written by practicing CPA Neil Johnson of Chicago – THE TAX DUDE SPEAKS – starts out with a great post of “Commentary on the IRS Announced Plans to Regulate ALL Tax Return Preparers”.
Neil tells us “As a practicing CPA, I have a real big issue with exempting CPAs and attorneys from ALL of the requirements placed on 'unenrolled preparers'”. He goes on to explain why -
“Being a licensed CPA or attorney is no guarantee of tax expertise. The licensing examinations do not emphasize tax law. Plus, neither is required to take any tax related continuing education to maintain their licenses. Truth is many CPAs and attorneys have little tax experience. I should know. I prepare tax returns for them. Frankly, any CPA or attorney in tax practice and not willing to take the IRS competency test should be ashamed of themselves.”
Thanks to Neil for “telling it like it is”! This continues with his bottom line –
“Virtually every new client I get is an amended tax return waiting to happen. Guess who prepared the returns I’m amending…mostly CPAs!”
* Bob Cusack tells us “IRS Commissioner Doesn't File His Own Taxes” over at THE HILL’s Blog Briefing Room.
According to Shulman – "I've used {a tax preparer} for years. I find it convenient. I find the tax code complex so I use a preparer."
You can be sure he doesn’t go to H+R Block. And, hey, at least he knows enough not to try it himself with Turbo Tax like his boss.
* I report the dates and locations of the “2010 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums” at the NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG.
* Oi vey! TAX PROF Paul Caron tells us that “Rep. Rangel ‘Unsure’ if Congress Will Retroactively Reinstate Estate Tax”. My main concern about reinstating the Estate Tax is with the “stepped-up basis” rules.
* Joe Kristan, of the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG, goes above and beyond the duty of a tax consultant and “tells it like it is” to a taxpayer posing a question about claiming her live-in boyfriend as a deposit in “Some Problems Aren't Really Tax Problems”.
Where can I find a girlfriend like Kristen?
* While 2010 has just begun, and most people are starting to think about their 2009 tax return, Kay Bell looks ahead to 2011, when all Dubya’s tax cuts suddenly disappear, and wonders “What Your Tax Rates Might Look Like” at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES. She also considers what else may happen in 2011.
TTFN
* I begin this installment of the BUZZ by imploring you to follow the advice of OUR TAXING TIME’S Trish McIntire and “Be Nice to Your Tax Preparer”.
* A new tax blog written by practicing CPA Neil Johnson of Chicago – THE TAX DUDE SPEAKS – starts out with a great post of “Commentary on the IRS Announced Plans to Regulate ALL Tax Return Preparers”.
Neil tells us “As a practicing CPA, I have a real big issue with exempting CPAs and attorneys from ALL of the requirements placed on 'unenrolled preparers'”. He goes on to explain why -
“Being a licensed CPA or attorney is no guarantee of tax expertise. The licensing examinations do not emphasize tax law. Plus, neither is required to take any tax related continuing education to maintain their licenses. Truth is many CPAs and attorneys have little tax experience. I should know. I prepare tax returns for them. Frankly, any CPA or attorney in tax practice and not willing to take the IRS competency test should be ashamed of themselves.”
Thanks to Neil for “telling it like it is”! This continues with his bottom line –
“Virtually every new client I get is an amended tax return waiting to happen. Guess who prepared the returns I’m amending…mostly CPAs!”
* Bob Cusack tells us “IRS Commissioner Doesn't File His Own Taxes” over at THE HILL’s Blog Briefing Room.
According to Shulman – "I've used {a tax preparer} for years. I find it convenient. I find the tax code complex so I use a preparer."
You can be sure he doesn’t go to H+R Block. And, hey, at least he knows enough not to try it himself with Turbo Tax like his boss.
* I report the dates and locations of the “2010 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums” at the NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG.
* Oi vey! TAX PROF Paul Caron tells us that “Rep. Rangel ‘Unsure’ if Congress Will Retroactively Reinstate Estate Tax”. My main concern about reinstating the Estate Tax is with the “stepped-up basis” rules.
* Joe Kristan, of the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG, goes above and beyond the duty of a tax consultant and “tells it like it is” to a taxpayer posing a question about claiming her live-in boyfriend as a deposit in “Some Problems Aren't Really Tax Problems”.
Where can I find a girlfriend like Kristen?
* While 2010 has just begun, and most people are starting to think about their 2009 tax return, Kay Bell looks ahead to 2011, when all Dubya’s tax cuts suddenly disappear, and wonders “What Your Tax Rates Might Look Like” at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES. She also considers what else may happen in 2011.
TTFN
