7 nebraska society of cpas W W W . N E S C P A . O R G Your Society will continue to advocate on behalf of members alongside the AICPA, members of Congress, and many other organizations to urge relief and help improve IRS performance. Thank you to Rep. Bacon for his support of our efforts. The legislation was the direct result of a Society member reaching out to express concerns with Nebraska law during succession planning for his firm. Following discussions with both the Society Board of Directors and the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy, a joint Society/State Board CPA Ownership Task Force was formed to examine limitations on non-CPAownership of CPA firms found in theNebraska Public AccountancyAct. Task Forcemembers representing the Society included Ryan Burger of GBE, CPA, PC in Seward and Dana Weber of Dana J. Weber, CPA in Scottsbluff. Representing the State Board on the Task Force wereMarcy Luth of AMGL, PC inGrand Island andDr. TomPurcell of CreightonUniversity in Omaha. After research, review, and several meetings, the Task Force recommended, upon identifying no harm to the public, that CPA firm ownership provisions be amended within the PAA to remove barriers to succession planning for small firms in the state and to align Nebraska law more closely with the laws of our neighboring states. This legislative effort was yet another great example of how the Society and State Board are working together to remove barriers within the profession while protecting the public. • Occupational Licensing Bill Fails to Pass. LB709, as introduced by Sen. John McCollister (Omaha), did not reach the finish line this session. This bill would amend the Occupational Board Reform Act to provide specific factors be considered by occupational boards, including the State Board of Public Accountancy, when reviewing a preliminary application for an occupational license. Under the bill, to be disqualifying, a felony conviction would have had to be directly related to the nature of the occupational field and for a crime that would make credentialing that applicant a “direct and substantial risk to public safety.” McCollister said the proposal would provide a “fair chance” for individuals with criminal histories to enter occupations if their offenses were unrelated to the field they seek to enter. Under a Government, Mi l itary, and Veterans Af fai rs Committee amendment, LB263 was one of two measures added to LB709. Introduced by Sen. Tom Briese (Albion), the bill would have created a framework for issuance of Nebraska occupational licenses and certifications based on credentials and work experience from other states. The good news about the bill was that credentials issued pursuant to the Nebraska Public Accountancy Act were among those exempted—thanks to meetings last summer between Sen. McCollister, the State Board, the Society, and our lobbyists. However, since the bill(s) did not move forward this session, we will likely have to address these issues again in 2023. Visit the Society at www.nescpa.org/advocacy/news for more information and links to valuable resources. Update on IRS Issues In March, the Society reached out to the Nebraska congressional delegation, as part of a nationwide concerted effort, to push for meaningful relief for taxpayers and practitioners from the IRS. As a result, 42 U.S. Senators and 65 U.S. Representatives, including Rep. Don Bacon (NE-2), signed a letter to IRS Commissioner Chuck Ret t ig urging the IRS and Treasury to implement recommendations from the AICPA and state societies that would ease the burden of this tax season. Through this effort, the IRS acknowledged the challenges and frustrations of this tax season and took steps to ease some of the burden. As of March 31, the IRS had 2.7 million returns filed in 2021 that still await processing and 2.3 million returns filed in 2022 that also remain unprocessed. Many of those returns were filed on paper, which requires IRS employees to manually type the return information into their systems. As National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins has said, “Paper is the IRS’ Kryptonite, and the IRS is buried in it.” On April 7, Rettig updated members of the Senate Finance Committee on the IRS’ performance and longer-term efforts. Rettig’s goal is to “get healthy,” with normal processing inventories, by the end of the 2022 calendar year. He noted that upgrading the IRS’ vintage computer system remains a challenge, due to a lack of consistent, timely, multiyear funding. However, staffing at the IRS is reportedly improving, thanks to the agency’s direct-hire authority and goal of hiring 5,000 workers before year-end. Your Society will continue to advocate on behalf of members alongside the AICPA, members of Congress, and many other
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