NJCPA Members Visit Lawmakers in Washington D.C. to Discuss Issues Important to the Accounting Profession 

ROSELAND, N.J. – Members of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) visited New Jersey lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to discuss the accounting profession’s advocacy agenda. The New Jersey CPAs were attending the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Spring Meeting of Council and Annual Members’ Meeting from May 19-21.  The visits to Capitol Hill were a highlight of the AICPA meeting.

“We think making these personal visits with our elected officials on Capitol Hill is one of the best ways to educate them about the issues important to the accounting profession and the taxpayers they represent,” said Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and executive director of the NJCPA.

At the top of the profession’s list of issues are modernizing the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) taxpayer services, changing the trigger that allows the IRS to grant deadline extensions when natural disasters occur, the growing importance of taxation of the digital economy and a Congressional resolution relating to the fiscal state of the nation.

A Practitioner Services Division within the IRS is one of the best ways to improve taxpayer services, the CPAs told lawmakers. It would help tax preparers solve their clients’ tax issues by consolidating existing IRS units in the new division. Currently, the programs are spread throughout the IRS and the operating systems for the programs do not easily communicate or integrate or even have access to the same taxpayer information.

Congress can also help taxpayers by enacting legislation that would give the IRS the authority to postpone deadlines when a national disaster is declared by a state’s governor, which often occurs days before the disaster occurs, rather than waiting for a federal disaster declaration, the CPAs said. The NJCPA and the AICPA have long worked for a set of permanent disaster relief tax provisions, but enactment of this new legislation would provide more timely assistance and certainty to tax preparers and taxpayers.

The CPAs also asked their lawmakers to support a Congressional fiscal state of the nation resolution calling for the Government Accountability Office Comptroller General (GAO) to make a presentation to a joint session of the House and Senate Budget Committees on the GAO’s auditor’s report of the U.S. government’s financial statements.

In addition, the CPAs advocated for sound tax policy as they discussed with lawmakers the complex and unique tax challenges presented to governments and tax authorities around the world by the advancement of technology and the digital economy.

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• PHOTO ATTACHED: NJCPA members and staff meet with Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Pictured (l to r): James Blake, CPA, Mazars USA LLP; Thomas F. Roche III, CPA, PKD O’Connor Davies, LLP, and past president of the NJCPA; Congressman Josh Gottheimer; Jeff Kaszerman, NJCPA Vice President of Government Relations; JoAnn Geylin, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP; and Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, NJCPA CEO and Executive Director

The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, with more than 14,500 members, represents the interests of the accounting profession and advances the financial well-being of the people of New Jersey. The NJCPA plays a leadership role in supporting the profession by providing members with educational resources, access to shared knowledge and a continuing effort to create and expand professional opportunities.