In This Issue...

1. From the CSTC President
2. Registration is OPEN for the 2023 Summer Symposium
3. April Events
4. Welcome New CSTC Members
5. Legislative Advocacy
6. News from the IRS
7. Join CSTC!

CSTC Member Benefits

CSTC members have access to benefits such as free payroll processing services for your tax practice, and the opportunity to earn new revenue through their flexible partnership options.

CSTC is pleased to include the VeriFyle ProTM premium secure online document and message sharing service at no cost to CSTC members!

Wolters Kluwer: Discounts on Tax, Accounting & Audit Resources, Software, Information & Services. 

 CSTC members receive the TaxBook WebLibrary at a special price

Other Member Benefits Include:

$ Savings on all Society Educational Events

$ Savings on Contact, Correspondence & Self Study Education

$ Savings with member specialty CSTC Connects (previouslyYellow Pages) list

$ Savings with E & O Insurance, plus specialty coverage relevant to your profession

$ Online CSTC Find-a-Tax Consultant search to help promote your business!

$ CSTC Member Listserv

Office Depot has partnered with us to provide exclusive savings in-store and online, plus fantastic additional benefits. This program is all about providing preferred pricing to our clubs, and the savings extend to almost every item.

Savings include 20% to 55% off item office supply core list, 20% to 55% off retail on cleaning  & break room items, 10% off branded; 20% off private brand  ink & toner core list, Average 10% off  retail on 200 technology core items, Free next-day shipping on orders of $50 or more, and SIGNIFICANT savings on copy & print. Become a CSTC member to sign up for our Office Depot Small Business Savings Program, administered by Excelerate America.

We are a professional full-service tax advisory firm in San Diego. Our goal is to provide a level of service for our clients that will exceed expectations in every possible way. We strive to offer a diverse level of services to meet the needs of the diverse community we have been working in for more than 30 years.

TaxMama's® EA Exam Course prepares tax professionals to do so much more than just pass the IRS' Special Enrollment Examination. This is an in-depth course that teaches tax law from the ground up. It explains how tax returns work, with examples of basic 1040s, Schedule Cs, 1065s, 1120s, and 1120Ss; you learn tax law, tax research, client representation for audits, appeals and collections. 

If you are interested in buying or selling a practice, contact us today! ATB is operated by Enrolled Agents ensuring a complete understanding of our profession. Please give us a call at (855) 428-2225 or visit us online at www.ATBCAL.com for more information and to view our current listings.
CA DRE 02002824

CSTC Mission Statement

CSTC advances professionalism within the tax industry by:

• Providing quality education

• Creating networking opportunities

• Advocating professional standards

President's Column
They're taking over...!

Chatbots are all the rage these days, especially since the introduction of Bard, Google’s entry into the chatbot arena. It seems every day there’s a story in the news about the chatbots, either appraising their abilities or lamenting the jobs that are going to be lost to them.

That the chatbots will affect many jobs and occupations is, I think, without doubt. The question is rather which jobs will be affected and how. My daughter-in-law is a college professor in Material Science Engineering, and she reports that her colleagues in the engineering and science departments are not worried about any significant effect in their departments. However, those in the English and Literature departments are definitely concerned.

That makes sense since the chatbots are primarily language-based and so perform best at language-based tasks, such as writing an article or a report. However, as one writer pointed out to me, chatbots will never produce good writing. Because they synthesize large amounts of ordinary writing, their results will be necessarily be ordinary. They can write an adequate, or even good, commencement speech, for example, but they can never write an extraordinary or outstanding speech. The good authors and speech writers can always outperform a chatbot.

Still, chatbots will impact many occupations, and parts of even more occupations. Which, of course, leads to the thought – what about my job? Will I be affected? How will the tax and accounting profession be impacted? If ChatGPT could pass the Bar Exam, could it pass the CPA Exam?

So I was intrigued when I saw that  the company TaxBuzz had tested ChatGPT on taxes. When asked, “What status should I use when filing my taxes?”, ChatGPT gave definitions of the various filing options. As for advice on which to choose, it said, “You can consult a tax professional to help determine the best option for you”! Maybe chatbots will drive more business to us!

To test ChatGPT further, TaxBuzz used actual questions posted on its tax practitioner technical support forum. ChatGPT provided incorrect answers 100% of the time! Though it was usually on the right track, it missed nuances of the tax code.

For example, one question was about a newly married couple where the wife had been a Florida resident the previous year. ChatGPT gave advice about filing a Florida state tax return, even though Florida doesn’t have state income tax!

Another question was about a mobile home that parents gave to their daughter. The parents had owned it for a long time. The daughter sold it a few months later. ChatGPT gave the wrong answer about tax benefits concerning the holding period and selling the home at a loss.

Why can’t the chatbots get it right? Because tax professionals have education and training, as well as access to verified libraries of information to use when analyzing the tax code. ChatGPT doesn’t have that level of brainpower or education. Chatbots can quote facts, but they can’t analyze or apply the relevant tax principles.

My conclusion: we tax professionals aren’t currently being threatened by the advent of chatbots, even ever-improving chatbots. They may even be useful to improve search engines and research tools, but our role as tax advisors has not been replaced.

But maybe I could use ChatGPT to write my next column….

Linda Dong
CSTC President 

Registration is OPEN for the 2023 Summer Symposium!

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be spending the next few weeks dreaming about everything that you’ll finally be able to do now that tax season has ended: laundry, cooking, sleeping, seeing your family, and, of course, planning for the Summer Symposium.

Obviously, the Symposium is a great place to get your education for the year (you can get all of your CTEC hours in one go!) and we have a fantastic lineup this year, if I do say so myself.  But Symposium isn’t just about education. 

Are you exploring options for software?  Looking for a great insurance provider for your E&O?  Maybe you’re thinking about taking the leap to become an EA and want a training course.  Or perhaps you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to bend the ear of some representatives from the IRS and FTB.  You can find all this and more in the exhibitor area!  Mix and mingle with all of our exhibitors at the exhibitor reception Monday evening.

Symposium is also a great opportunity to network with tax professionals from all across the state and beyond.  I look forward to seeing my Symposium friends, members from the north and south that I only get to see once a year.  Make new connections at the Sunday welcome reception, or over breakfast before our morning sessions. 

Sign up here to join us at the beautifully remodeled Sahara Hotel.  I can’t wait to see you there!

Shannon Hall
CSTC First Vice President and Summer Symposium Chair

Summer-Symposium Schedule-at-a-Glance

 CSTC Knowledge Vault - A New CSTC Member Benefit

Calendar of Events
April 2023

April 2, 2023

Round-Table Discussion 2022 Tax Issues and Resolutions
Greater Long Beach Chapter In-Person Meeting
3 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

April 4, 2023

Round Table Discussion Topics & Breakfast
North County San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 California Hour (Topics covering California tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

April 7, 2023

Round Table
Temecula Valley Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 Federal Law hour (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

April 11, 2023

Round Table Discussion Topics & Breakfast
North County San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 California Hour (Topics covering California tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

April 14, 2022

Round Table
Temecula Valley Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 Federal Law hour (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

Click here to view the CSTC calendar.

Welcome New CSTC Members!

Please help us by joining our newest CSTC Members!

Rodolfo Bataller
Greater Long Beach Chapter

Randal Bressette
Orange County- South Chapter

David Williams
Central Valley Chapter

Korey Wyatt
Los Angeles Chapter

Congratulations to our new CSTC members!

Legislative Advocacy

CSTC has been the leading Association in supporting legislation to provide protection for our profession, to support our profession, and to enhance our profession. CSTC continuously leads our industry through legislative advocacy, educational opportunities, and professional inclusion.

CSTC works closely with a Legislative Consultant to keep an eye on important bills that would affect taxpayers and small business owners.

Please click here to view the bills that CSTC is currently monitoring.

Join the California Society of Tax Consultants!

Click here to fill out an online application.

CSTC advances professionalism within the tax industry by:

• Providing quality education
• Creating networking opportunities
• Advocating professional standards

California Society of Tax Consultants | PO Box 10, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267
Phone (949) 715-4192 | [email protected]