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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. If you would like additional information about this article, contact Professor Purcell at tpurcell@creighton.edu.
Since the last cut-off date for this column (June 1, 2001, see DC Currents, "TEC Initiatives," TTA, August 2001, p. 556), the Tax Executive Committee (TEC) met twice (June 14 –15, 2001 and July 30–31, 2001) and exercised its review function on several projects. A report of the actions the TEC took after Sept. 15, 2001 will appear in a future column.
Tax Division Administrative Issues The TEC, through a task force chaired by Jane Rubin, is working with others within the AICPA on the future content of the Uniform CPA Examination. The task force is addressing which tax content should be included in the exam as the profession migrates from less focus on compliance to greater emphasis on consulting skills. (For a discussion of the new Uniform CPA Examination, see the Tax Education column, p. 785, this issue.) The Member Tax Practice Im-provement Committee, chaired by Jay Starkman, has become both operational and active following the committee restructuring that took place earlier this year. Through three new task forces, the committee is addressing electronic filing, competency assessment and Tax Court representation, and is continuing to provide service through its Tax Practice Guides Task Force.
Technical Activities Joint and several liability. As previously reported, on June 12, the TEC provided the IRS with comments on Prop. Regs. Sec. 1.6015-1, Relief from Joint and Several Liability on a Joint Return. The comments, prepared by the Domestic Interspousal Relations Tax Task Force (chaired by Patricia Thompson) can be found at www.aicpa.org/letters/index.htm. Sec. 121. On June 26, the TEC submitted a proposal on the Sec. 121 exclusion to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee (SFC). The Residence Sale Exclusion Task Force (chaired by Norman Solomon) and the Individual Taxation Technical Resource Panel (TRP)(chaired by Ronald Hegt) identified an inequity in the application of the $500,000 exclusion to situations involving married couples in which one spouse dies shortly before the end of a tax year. The complete comments are available at www.aicpa.org/letters/index.htm. Taxpayer problems. In July, the TEC submitted a letter to Nina Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate, outlining the most serious problems facing taxpayers. This commentary, prepared by the Relations with the IRS Committee (chaired by Deborah Pflieger) focused on the most recent problems encountered by taxpayers and their representatives in communication with (and service by) the IRS. Electing small-business trusts. In August, the TEC provided written comments to the Service on the proposed and temporary regulations for electing small-business trusts. The comments, prepared by the Electing Small Business Trust Task Force (chaired by James Sansone), identified 12 areas of the proposed regulations for which either additional guidance would be helpful or clarification would enhance implementation and taxpayer compliance. Built-in-loss assets. Also in August, the TEC provided the IRS with a draft revenue ruling addressing the amortization of a built-in-loss asset made subsequent to an ownership change. The draft ruling, prepared by the Corporations and Shareholders TRP (chaired by Carolyn Turnbull), would provide guidance in an area that has received little published administrative attention. Accounting period changes. On Sept. 7, 2001, the TEC submitted comments to the Service on proposed regulations and revenue procedures setting forth guidance on changing annual accounting periods. The Tax Accounting TRP prepared these comments. Tax shelters. The TEC continues to monitor developments in the tax shelter area. The SFC staff released another Draft Legislation on Abusive Tax Shelters on August 3. In a letter dated September 10, Pam Pecarich, chair of the TEC, responded to the draft and identified areas in which the TEC continues to have concerns about the SFC's approach in defining "tax shelters" in overly broad terms. The TEC also maintains its position that a legislative solution to this issue is not appropriate at this time. Simplification efforts. The TEC has organized efforts to submit comments on the Study of the Overall State of the Federal Tax System and Recommendation for Simplification, prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), issued in April of this year. Each of the various Tax Division committees and TRPs analyzed appropriate sections of this document, and the TEC is preparing a coordinated set of comments to be submitted in the near future. As it has consistently stated, the AICPA supports meaningful relief for taxpayers through simplification efforts and the need for simplification as a legislative priority, such as repealing both the individual and corporate alternative minimum tax structures.
Tax Simplification Conference The AICPA, in collaboration with the American Bar Association and the Tax Executive Institute, is co-sponsoring a conference on tax simplification. Tentatively scheduled for December 4, and to be held on Capitol Hill, the conference would afford tax practitioners the opportunity to interact with tax legislative and policy representatives.
Conclusion Through its various task forces, TRPs and committees, the TEC continues to monitor numerous other projects. With tax legislation recently enacted, and significant proposals for additional tax system reform and simplification, the Tax Division will be appropriately analyzing proposals for regulatory implementation of 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 that they would like to see provided should contact Bill Stromsem at (202) 434-9227 or wstromsem@aicpa.org . |
