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In This Issue...
- From the CSTC President
- Registration is OPEN for the 2023 Summer Symposium
- March Events
- Welcome New CSTC Members
- Congratulations!
- Legislative Advocacy
- News from the IRS
- 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
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President's Column
Who Knew?
I came across an interesting statistic the other day – the IRS has a 90.6% conviction rate! That means if you’re charged with a financial crime, you’re almost certain to lose!
But this isn’t your common office audit. These are the audits that get referred to Criminal Investigation (CI) for fraud and similar violations. In fiscal year 2022, tax fraud cases handled by CI totaled $5.7 billion, in addition to $26.9 billion in other financial crimes.
The IRS Criminal Investigation publishes a report of its accomplishments every year (Publication 3583). CI is the sixth largest federal law enforcement agency, and the only one that spends 100% of its time on financial investigations. The core of their enforcement efforts is general tax fraud investigation – violations like keeping two sets of books, deliberately choosing not to file a tax return, claiming false deductions or credits, and hiding or transferring assets. They also investigate abusive tax schemes and employment tax fraud.
Their non-tax investigations include money laundering, public corruption, corporate fraud, and providing criminal enforcement for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which mainly involves foreign accounts and transactions. Their newest area of focus is cybercrimes, including tracing and monitoring cryptocurrency and monitoring the dark web.
The 2022 CI report is 46 pages covering all the different areas CI is involved in. it also includes case examples highlighting their successes – from preparers caught filing fraudulent tax returns to the conviction of a Russian cryptocurrency money launderer to helping to take down the largest and longest-running marketplace on the darknet. It’s a bit like reading excerpts from a detective novel or a spy thriller.
And yet, as I considered it more, I realized that I’ve had two brushes with CI. One was an audit where the taxpayer had met with the auditor and then asked me to represent him. When I called the auditor, she told me she was considering referring the case to CI. I immediately stopped my work and recommended he get an attorney.
The second case involved CI of the Franchise Tax Board. I got a call from them, asking to set up an appointment to meet with me. They instructed me not to tell my client about their visit. When they came to my office to look at the tax return, they asked me if I had talked to my client. I said no. They responded that was good; otherwise I could be looking at obstruction of justice charges! They were really serious. My client was eventually convicted of embezzling funds from the county and went to jail.
So if you need a break from preparing tax returns, Publication 3538 has some pretty interesting tidbits. And you can always quote some of their success rates to help keep those recalcitrant clients in line!
Linda Dong
CSTC President
Registration is OPEN for the 2023 Summer Symposium!
The Society Education Committee has been busy planning an amazing event for our return to Las Vegas for our 2023 Summer Symposium.
Join us at the beautifully remodeled Sahara Las Vegas for this year’s event: CSTC presents Ocean’s 1040!
Did you know that you can get ALL of your CTEC credits for the year at Symposium? That’s right! You can get your federal, update, Ethics, and CA hours all in one go, and all for about $25 per CE hour!
Oh, and did we mention the return of the Lunch and Learn sessions? Your registration includes breakfast AND lunch each day of the event!
With our fantastic line-up of speakers and topics there’s something for everyone, from beginner to veteran preparers.
Can’t wait to see you in Vegas!
CLICK HERE to learn more and register!
Summer-Symposium Schedule-at-a-Glance
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Sunday, June 11, 2023
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| 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM |
Registration Open; Exhibitor Set-up |
| 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM |
Welcome Reception for First-Time Attendees |
| 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM |
Welcome Reception
This event is family-friendly.
(Included with full registration. Guest registration is $95)
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Monday, June 12, 2023
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| 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
Registration and Exhibits |
| 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM |
Breakfast Keynote Session
IRS Discussion
Speaker: more information coming soon |
| 9:15 AM to 10:05 AM |
Breakout Sessions: |
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Track One: Representation Basics
Speaker: LG Brooks, EA, CTRS, NTPI Fellow
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Track Two: Code Breakers: Tax Research for the 21st Century
Speaker: Shannon Hall, EA
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Track Three: Form 7203 & S Corp Basis
Speaker: Jane Ryder, EA, CPA
This session continues after the break until 12 pm.
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| 10:05 AM to 10:20 AM |
Coffee Break / Break with Exhibitors |
| 10:20 AM to 12:00 PM |
Breakout Sessions: |
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Track One: Tax Planning After Death of a Spouse
Speaker: Lawrence Pon, CPA/PFS, CFP, EA, USTCP, AEP
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Track Two: Representation - All Tax Matters
Speaker: LG Brooks, EA, CTRS, NTPI Fellow |
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(CONTINUED) Track Three: Form 7203 & S Corp Basis
Speaker: Jane Ryder, EA, CPA
Do not register for this session if you did not select the 9:15 am session.
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| 12:00 PM to 1:20 PM |
Lunch and Learn
More information coming soon |
| 1:20 PM to 3:00 PM |
Breakout Sessions: |
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Track One: Are you a CA Smartie?
Speaker: Patty Barron, EA |
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Track Two: Maximizing the Triple Tax Advantage of Health Savings Accounts
Speakers: Roy Ramthun, Nationally Recognized Expert on Health Savings Accounts and Consumer-Directed Health Care Issues, and Lawrence Pon, CPA/PFS, CFP, EA, USTCP, AEP |
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Track Three: OOPS! I Made A Mistake
Speaker: Michael Tullio, EA |
| 3:00 PM to 3:20 PM |
Break with Exhibitors |
| 3:20 PM to 5:00 PM |
General Session
Federal Update for Individuals
Speaker: Claudia Stanley, CPA, EA |
| 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM |
Reception with Exhibitors |
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Tuesday, June 13, 2023
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| 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
Registration and Exhibits |
| 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM |
Breakfast Keynote Session
CA Updates from the Franchise Tax Board
Speaker: Victoria Ramirez, Technical Advisor to the Advocate Taxpayers' Rights Advocate's Office
The speaker will be joining virtually |
| 9:15 AM to 10:05 AM |
Breakout Sessions: |
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Track One: Crypto Currency & Digital Assets
Speaker: Jane Ryder, EA, CPA
This session continues after the break until 12 pm.
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Track Two: Interesting Lives - Interesting Tax Situations
Speaker: Ryan Reichert, CFP, EA
This session continues after the break until 12 pm.
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Track Three: Getting Credit
Speaker: Claudia Stanley, CPA, EA
This session continues after the break until 12 pm. |
| 10:05 AM to 10:20 AM |
Coffee Break / Break with Exhibitors |
| 10:20 AM to 12:00 PM |
Breakout Sessions: |
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(CONTINUED) Track One: Crypto Currency & Digital Assets
Speaker: Jane Ryder, EA, CPA
Do not register for this session if you did not select the 9:15 am session.
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(CONTINUED) Track Two: Interesting Lives - Interesting Tax Situations
Speaker: Ryan Reichert, CFP, EA
This session continues after the break until 12 pm.
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(CONTINUED) Track Three: Getting Credit
Speaker: Claudia Stanley, CPA, EA
Do not register for this session if you did not select the 9:15 am session.
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| 12:00 PM to 1:20 PM |
2023 Annual Business Meeting and Lunch
(Included with registration) |
| 1:20 PM to 3:00 PM |
Breakout Sessions: |
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Track One: What Is Evidence (and The Cohan Rule)
Speaker: Frank Acuña, Attorney at Law
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Track Two: Advanced S Corporation Topics
Speaker: Lawrence Pon, CPA/PFS, CFP, EA, USTCP, AEP
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Track Three: Tax Implications of Exercise and Sale of Employee Stock Purchase Plans (ESPP) and Restricted Stock Units (RSU)
Speaker: Mike Tullio, EA |
| 3:00 PM to 3:20 PM |
Break with Exhibitors |
| 3:20 PM to 5:00 PM |
General Session
Business Tax Update
Speaker: Ryan Reichert, CFP, EA |
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Wednesday, June 14, 2023
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| 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
Registration and Exhibits |
| 8:20 AM to 10:05 AM |
Breakfast Keynote Session
Tax Stuff you Thought you Knew 2.0
Speaker: Ryan Reichert, CFP, EA
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| 10:05 AM to 10:20 AM |
Coffee Break / Break with Exhibitors |
| 10:20 AM to 12:00 PM |
Breakout Sessions: |
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Track One: Does Congress Want You to Live in Sin?
Speaker: Eva Rosenberg, EA, CTRS, CTC
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Track Two: Rental Real Estate & Advanced Tax Issues
Speaker: Jane Ryder, EA, CPA |
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Track Three: California Tax Update
Speaker: Lawrence Pon, CPA/PFS, CFP, EA, USTCP, AEP |
| 12:00 PM to 1:20 PM |
Lunch and Learn
More information coming soon |
| 1:20 PM to 3:00 PM |
General Session
Stump the Tax Experts
Speaker: Speakers are invited to join this panel |
| 3:00 PM to 3:20 PM |
Break with Exhibitors |
| 3:20 PM to 5:00 PM |
General Session
A Lawyers Look at Ethics
Speaker: Frank Acuña, Attorney at Law
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| 5:15 PM |
Grand Prize Drawing |
CSTC Knowledge Vault - A New CSTC Member Benefit
We all know that being a member of CSTC has many benefits, and we are so excited to share this newest one with you!
We are proud to unveil the new CSTC Knowledge Vault, a member exclusive resource for up to the minute information on all things tax written by experts in the field. This new page, which you can find in the member area of the website, will be updated regularly with articles and information to keep you on the cutting edge of tax law changes.
Some highlights from the latest articles include:
2022 Schedules K-2 &K-3, Happy Path Exception for Domestic Partnerships or S-Corps with Little or No Foreign Activity
- Steps to Eliminate the Requirement to Prepare & Issue K-2 and K-3
- Form 1116 Exemption Exception
- Detailed Instructions for Exceptions from Filing Schedules K-2 and K-3
IRS Tax Relief: California Storm Relief
- IRS Notices CA-2023-01 and IR-2023-03
- Detailed information on which filings are extended and impacted counties
- FTB Notice of Tax Filing Relief Postponement
Check out this newest addition to the CSTC website here: https://cstc.memberclicks.net/new-cstc-knowledge-vault
Calendar of Events
March 2023
March 1, 2023
Crypto Currency/Crypto Mining
San Francisco Bay Chapter Virtual Meeting
2 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register
March 5, 2023
What's New, Part 2
Central Valley Chapter In-Person Meeting
3 Federal Tax Update hours (Topics covering new tax law)
Click here to learn more and register
March 7, 2023
Round Table Discussion Topics & Breakfast
North County San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 Federal Tax Update hours (Topics covering new tax law)
Click here to learn more and register
March 8, 2023
Cutting Edge Strategies and Reporting for Limited Liability Companies
San Jose Chapter Virtual Meeting
2 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register
March 12, 2022
Round-Table Discussion 2022 Tax Issues and Resolutions
Greater Long Beach Chapter In-Person Meeting
3 California hours (Topics covering California law issues)
Click here to learn more and register
March 14, 2023
Round Table Discussion Topics & Breakfast
North County San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 Federal Tax Update hours (Topics covering new tax law)
Click here to learn more and register
March 19, 2023
Round Table Tax Topics and Brunch
Orange County Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register
March 21, 2023
Round Table Discussion Topics & Breakfast
North County San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 Federal Tax Update hours (Topics covering new tax law)
Click here to learn more and register
March 28, 2023
Round Table Discussion Topics & Breakfast
North County San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
1 Federal Tax Update hours (Topics covering new 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!
David Bouie
Greater Long Beach Chapter
Thanh Bui
Orange County Chapter
Patricia Chapman
San Diego Chapter
Adriana Kirby
San Diego Chapter
Jared La Blue
San Francisco Bay Chapter
Mary Lamunyon-Jones
Central Valley Chapter
Dena Lebovitz
San Jose Chapter
Kevin Leitner
San Jose Chapter
Mercy Lopez
Los Angeles Chapter
Frank Nunez
Central Valley Chapter
Frederick Rossow
Orange County Chapter
John Yralongo
San Jose Chapter
Denys Vargas
Greater Long Beach Chapter
Raquel Vargas
Greater Long Beach Chapter
Thao Zheng
Los Angeles Chapter
Congratulations to our new CSTC members!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to member Trina Martir for successfully passing the Enrolled Agent exam! Trina is a member of the Orange County Chapter and is currently serving as a Summer Symposium Committee member.
Did you, or someone you know, pass the EA exam? Or become a newly registered California Registered Tax Preparer through CTEC? If so, let us know by emailing [email protected]. We’d love to give them a shout-out!
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
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