PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ADVOCATING FOR THE PROFESSION ON CAPITOL HILL LEGISLATIVE WINS FOLLOW CONGRESSIONAL VISITS BY JONI SUNDQUIST, NEBRASKA SOCIETY OF CPAs IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE AICPA Spring Council meeting in Washington, D.C., NESCPA leaders visited Nebraska’s congressional delegation on Capitol Hill to discuss pressing issues affecting the profession, including a number of bills related to tax policy and workforce. The visits mainly focused on preserving the pass-through entity tax (PTET) deduction, offering certainty and fairness during disasters, expanding the use of 529 savings plans, and recognizing accounting as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) profession. Attending this year’s trip were Society Chairman Brian Klintworth of HBE LLP in Lincoln, Society Chairman-Elect Jodi Eckhout of Woods & Durham Chartered CPAs in Holdrege, and Society Board member, Past Chairman, and AIPCA Elected Representative Lori Egger of CyncHealth in La Vista. Thanks to the advocacy and outreach by these Nebraska Society of CPAs volunteers, many other state CPA societies throughout the country, and our partners at the AICPA, the accounting profession secured three significant legislative victories in 2025: retention of the PTET deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), disaster legislation allowing state disaster declarations to trigger IRS tax relief, and enhancements to 529 education savings plans. These issues represent three of the four issues that state societies took to our elected officials in Congress during this year’s AICPA Spring Council meeting. The AICPA Council is the governing body of the AICPA and is comprised of approximately 265 members and representatives from every state and U.S. territory. PRESERVING THE PTET DEDUCTION One of the most impactful wins this year at the federal level was the retention of the PTET deduction for all pass-through entities. Following the release of both the House and Senate versions of the budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 1), the accounting profession—as well as many other service-based professions (e.g., dentists, doctors, lawyers, nurses, veterinarians)— faced a very real threat of having the critical PTET deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) curtailed or eliminated entirely, which would have resulted in a much higher tax burden for millions of pass-through entities, which make up the vast majority of businesses. State CPA societies joined together with our partners at the AICPA to engage in persistent outreach to members of Congress advocating for the retention of the PTET deduction for all pass-throughs. As a result, the provision was removed from the final bill before being signed by the President—a huge victory for the accounting profession. U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., joins Nebraska CPAs for a conversation on Capitol Hill during the AICPA Spring Council’s advocacy visits. 8 Nebraska CPA
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