Gail Sparks Pitts 2007-2008 MACPA Chair of the Board

As our members face a busy season of year-end accounting and 2007 tax year filings, we can celebrate a “tax victory” in Lansing – closing the door on the ill-fated service tax. After several all-night legislative sessions and the active participation of MACPA’s grassroots team, board members, Legislative Advisory Group and government relations staff together with other organizations, the Michigan Service Tax was eliminated on December 1.

With the service tax out of the picture, all of us are now focusing on understanding and implementing the new Michigan Business Tax. The MACPA is committed to providing resources and continuing professional education to help you in the process. Visit our homepage – www.michcpa.org – and you’ll see a quick link under CPA Resources for new MBT sessions. In addition, you can count on the MACPA for the latest information and resources via a special web page devoted to the MBT.

But, the MBT isn’t the only issue on our radar: practice mobility for CPAs has returned to the top of our legislative agenda for 2008. Because the electronic age makes conducting business across state borders an everyday occurrence, there is a critical need for all states to adopt a uniform mobility system that will allow licensed CPAs to provide services across state lines without unnecessary burdens that do not protect the public interest.

Currently, compliance and enforcement of the existing system is almost impossible, with multiple, cumbersome processes and disparities in requirements. A uniform mobility provision would allow CPAs to provide timely services to our clients, regardless of location, without the hindrances of unnecessary filings.

So far, mobility provisions are in place in 11 states, and legislation is pending in another seven states. The MACPA is an active participant on a Michigan Mobility Committee along with representatives from the State Board of Accountancy, the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth and NASBA. The Committee anticipates the introduction of mobility legislation in the first quarter of 2008. For more on CPA license mobility, read the article in this issue of Leaders’ Edge.

Another critical issue – brought forth especially at this time of year – is our concern about fraudulent or otherwise improper tax return preparation in communities throughout Michigan. The MACPA has partnered with State Representative Steve Tobocman (D-Detroit), who has committed a significant amount of his time, and that of his staff, to ensuring reliable tax return preparation among the largely Hispanic community he represents.

MACPA’s new Task Force on Taxpayer Awareness will lay the foundation for a public awareness campaign to arm taxpayers, particularly from low-income and immigrant populations, with the knowledge to avoid unscrupulous tax preparers. Working together with members of the State Legislature, and in partnership with the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting and the Accounting Aid Society, our Task Force will launch a pilot public awareness campaign later this month in Rep. Tobocman’s district. A cornerstone of the campaign will be a bilingual brochure containing tips and questions to ask prior to hiring a tax preparer.

Since the greatest tool for consumer protection is education, the MACPA and its members are uniquely qualified to fill this crucial need – providing taxpayers with the knowledge to help them avoid unscrupulous tax preparers. Opening doors to reach out into our communities does make a difference!

I extend my best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

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