May 2007 Presidents Exchange

• NAEA rewrites it's bylaws.

  • After nearly a year of work, the Bylaws Committee presented its totally rewritten bylaw proposal to the Board of Directors at it last meeting on May 12. The bylaw proposal is a product of several presentations of draft proposals to NAEA leaders and members and eliciting feedback. OSSEA was very active in this process and issued two letters of comment during the process.

  • While the final product may still have areas of concern to some, the NAEA Board of Directors has recommended a “do pass” to our members. The Bylaws will be presented to the members for approval at the annual meeting in Baltimore in August. A caucus will be conducted prior to the vote for final explanation and feedback. A complete copy of the proposed bylaws is available on the NAEA website.

• NAEA Develops Research Service

  • The Board of Directors of NAEA has authorized the NAEA staff to proceed with negotiating a contract with the Tax Institute to provide NAEA with an on-line research service. The Tax Institute, which is a subsidiary of H&R Block, has been in the tax research business for several years. They propose to provide an NAEA branded knowledge database of frequently asked questions at no charge. Specific questions that require research will be answered on a fee basis and should be answered within 48 hours. Typical cost is $26-30 per question. Please keep in touch with NAEA and OSSEA publications for more details as they emerge. NAEA hopes to begin the major marketing at the IRS forums this summer.

• NAEA Gathers Affiliate Presidents for Dialogue
  • For the past three years, NAEA has conducted Affiliate Presidents Exchange meetings in Washington, DC. These meetings are designed to exchange information between NAEA and its state affiliates. Generally, representation from about half of the affiliates are in attendance at these meetings. Some states send more than one person.
  • Richard Rhodes, EA, President-elect and President Don Jump attended the May meeting held on the 11th. The meeting began with a filed trip to Capital Hill and an update from our Government Awareness Dept. We returned to the Hamilton Crowne Plaza for an update from the Bylaws Committee and from Gigi Jarvis, our Director of Public Relations. Our Director of Membership, Sam Matlick, updated us on issues related to membership. One area of nagging concern is our ability, or lack thereof, to provide a preparatory course for those desiring to take the Enrolled Agent exam.
  • Later in the day, we met in a joint meeting with the Board of Directors to exchange ideas and areas of concern. Each director is assigned to several affiliates for liaison with NAEA. Betsey Buckingham, EA has been assigned to Ohio.
  • There are many positive efforts taking place within NAEA at his time. The Government Relations team is doing a great job in representing Enrolled Agents before Congress and the IRS. It takes a lot of time and effort to build the positive relationship required to be able to provide input at critical moments. NAEA has a very strong financial position at this point and purports a 94% member retention. Gigi Jarvis is working very hard on making “Enrolled Agent” a household word. Sam Matlick and her staff continue to be very responsive to meeting the needs of the membership.
  • All of NAEAs efforts are closely supervised by our Executive Vice President who has proven to be an effective leader and spokesperson for NAEA. Some might observe that the staff of NAEA is more enthusiastic about promoting Enrolled Agents than some actual Enrolled Agents.
• NAEA supports Senate Bill s1219
  • Taxpayer Protection and Assistance Act of 2007
  • Rich Rhodes and I attended the NAEA Affiliate Presidents Exchange meeting in Washington DC last week. As a part of this meeting we were taken to the offices of our legislative agent, Jeff Trinca, on Capital Hill. We were updated as to the prospect that S. 1219 might actually become law. Given the power shift in Congress, the seriousness of the Tax Gap and NAEA’s continuing efforts to convince Congress that reform is needed, leads us to believe that now is our best opportunity to see some requirement that all paid tax preparers be credentialed in some way. The may lead to a new term, “Enrolled Preparer”. While this may be disconcerting to some, NAEA believes that by retaining the word “Enrolled” will only lead to greater recognition of the “Enrolled Agent”.
  • Michael Chesman, the new Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility with the Internal Revenue Service, spoke at the installation dinner and assured us that he and his office were supportive of the legislation as well.
  • As members of OSSEA and NAEA, we are encouraged to contact our legislators and the legislators directly involved with the proposed bill. Please read the weekly “E@lert” to keep apprised of the progress of this legislation.