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On a cool, rainy Tuesday in Manhattan (10/27/09) about 50 CPAs from large and mid-size firms in New York and New Jersey took time out of their day to head to Le Parker Meridien Hotel. There, by special invitation, they had the opportunity to spend quality, one-on-one time with Mark Everson, most recent IRS Commissioner, and Dean Zerbe - two gentlemen who could give them an insider's perspective on what to expect in tax legislation (view from the Hill) and tax administration (the IRS).
alliantgroup, LP sponsored this event as part of our ongoing commitment to serve as a sounding board and the “voice” of CPA firms throughout the country. Information gleaned from this session will be used to reach out to policy makers on the Hill and at Treasury (and IRS) so that the voice of alliantgroup's key constituents, CPA firms and the businesses that they serve, will be heard at the highest levels of government. Traditionally, at the Congressional level and at the upper echelons of government, only the voices of the Fortune 1000 and their Big 4 advisors are heard. This is not the case anymore, as alliantgroup has over the past year become more vocal as to its constituents' needs – and Congress and others are listening! There are currently several tax legislative proposals making their rounds in Congress which would greatly benefit flow-through business entities. These legislative initiatives were brought on by Dean Zerbe in response to the hundreds of CPAs and businesses that he has spoken to throughout the country and the feedback he has received from them.
To wit, Messrs. Everson (Vice Chairman of alliantgroup) and Zerbe (National Managing Director of alliantgroup) met in morning and afternoon sessions with individual CPAs and small groups to answer their questions and to listen to their issues. The intimate meeting spaces at Le Parker Meridien proved to be a perfect setting for these discussions, which attendees have said proved highly insightful for them. They expressed appreciation for having this unusual opportunity to learn “from the source” and be heard by people in a position to carry their messages to Washington.
One of the concerns raised by the CPAs who attended was the disconnect between the increasing complexity and burden of tax compliance and the downward pressure clients are putting on CPA firm fees. So while it may take more time than ever to complete a tax return, taxpayers want to pay less and less for these services. This and other issues raised by attendees were addressed one-on-one and during the lunchtime keynote addresses by Everson and Zerbe.
While they could not tell the group that taxes were likely to get simpler any time soon, they did say that there are some important things CPAs can do to help their clients pay less tax. Everson emphasized a point he often stresses, that no taxpayer should pay one penny less or, importantly, one penny more than they owe. During his tenure at the IRS, Everson was known for his efforts to boost the service role of the IRS. Zerbe reminded the group that Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is still on the Finance Committee as ranking member and advocating for small and medium-size businesses every day. Dhaval Jadav, alliantgroup CEO, spoke about alliantgroup's role assisting CPAs in serving their clients and our role, through the efforts of Zerbe and Everson, in keeping the interests of CPAs and their clients at the forefront in Washington.
Following the afternoon meetings, alliantgroup hosted a cocktail reception that afforded attendees another opportunity to visit with Everson and Zerbe, and with each other.
In addition to the CPA firms in attendance, alliantgroup senior management and a few members of alliantgroup's Strategic Advisory Board (Philippe Camus, chairman of Alcatel-Lucent; and John Dillon, former chairman and CEO of International Paper) were on hand to meet with attendees, many of whom were interested in setting up appointments for further discussions with Everson or Zerbe, and to learn more about some of the government-sponsored tax incentives that both men insist the government wants eligible taxpayers to utilize.
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