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TEC Initiatives Editor:
Editor's note: Professor Purcell is a member of the Tax Executive Committee. DC Currents is designed to heighten awareness of the AICPA Tax Division's work and keep readers apprised of Division activities involving tax policy, technical issues and other practice support matters.
Since the last cut-off date for this column (see DC Currents, "TEC Initiatives," TTA, March 2001, p. 333), the Tax Executive Committee (TEC) met once and exercised its review function on several projects. TEC actions taken after June 1, 2001 will be reported in a future column.
Tax Division Management The TEC continues to monitor the evolution of the AICPA Tax Division following its 1999 reorganization. The Division has three new task forces to address: (1) increase of attendance at semi-annual Division meetings and provision of better service to members (Meeting Design and Planning, chaired by Jeff Porter); (2) improvement of communications among Division members and between the TEC and Division members (Communications Issues, chaired by Steve Corrick); and (3) management of committees, technical resource panels (TRPs) and task forces, including leadership training (Role of Chairs, Staff, Task Forces, and Other Management Issues, chaired by Tom Purcell). The new task forces will provide preliminary findings at the October 2001 Tax Division meeting.
Technical Activities Estate and gift taxes. "Study on Reform of the Estate and Gift Tax System," the final report of the Estate Tax Repeal Task Force (chaired by Dr. Roby Sawyers), was published in February (see DC Currents, "AICPA Study on Reform of the Estate and Gift Tax System," TTA, May 2001, p. 334). To its credit, the report caught the ears of several congressional members and respective tax committees. The Multi-Professional Organization GST Exemption Allocation Task Force (co-chaired by John Gardner) had previously proposed relief provisions for the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. The recently enacted Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) contains a phaseout of the estate, gift and GST taxes, and incorporates some of the two task forces' recommendations. E-filing. On April 17, the TEC provided written comments on the 2001 filing season to the House Committee on Ways and Means. The comments, prepared by the Relations with the IRS Committee (chaired by Deborah Pflieger), addressed the challenges encountered in both the move to electronic filing and the realignment of IRS Service Centers. Circular 230. On April 24, task force members delivered to the IRS comments on the proposed amendments to the regulations that deal with Circular 230. The Circular 230 Task Force (chaired by John C. Gardner) drafted the comments, with oversight by the Tax Practice Responsibilities Committee (chaired by Dan L. Mendelson). Tax simplification. On April 26, Pam Pecarich, chair of the TEC, provided oral testimony before the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) on tax simplification and the AICPA's position. The comments, submitted to the SFC prior to Ms. Pecarich's appearance, underscored the positions taken by the TEC, the American Bar Association and the Tax Executives Institute, in their recent collaborative efforts on simplification. Also on April 26, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released its comprehensive study of the Federal tax system, which included several simplification proposals. The TEC charged the Division committees and TRPs to analyze the proposals and prepare responses, if necessary, to the JCT positions. While this study predates the EGTRRA, the proposals and analysis will be the subject of debate on future tax bills. Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. As reported in May (see DC Currents, "TEC Initiatives," TTA, May 2001, p. 333), the Member Tax Practice Improvement Committee, through its Privacy/Disclosure Task Force (chaired by Tom Ochsenschlager), developed a practice guide, titled "AICPA Member Practice Guide on the Privacy Protection Provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and Related Federal Trade Commission Regulations," for members to use in complying with the act. The legislation deals with the disclosure of nonpublic personal information. The practice guide is available at ftp.aicpa.org/public/download/news/ftc.doc. Paper copies of the guide should be forthcoming to Division members. Split-dollar life insurance. On May 23, the TEC submitted comments to the IRS under Notice 2001-10, dealing with split-dollar life insurance arrangements. The Split-Dollar Task Force prepared the comments. Innocent spouse regs. On May 30, the TEC provided comments to the Service on the proposed innocent spouse regulations. The Domestic Interspousal Tax Relations Task Force (chaired by Patricia Thompson) prepared the comments, under the guidance of the Individual Tax TRP (chaired by Ronald Hegt).
Conclusion With the recent enactment of EGTRRA and significant proposals for additional tax system reform and simplification, the Tax Division will be appropriately analyzing proposals for regulatory implementation of the new tax law and the provisions that might become law in the foreseeable future. The TEC and other Tax Division committees are committed to providing the best service possible to AICPA members. Any member with suggestions for services or products should contact Bill Stromsem at (202) 434-9227 or wstromsem@aicpa.org . |
