FICPA leaders visit Capitol Hill to advocate for CPAs

Last month, members of FICPA leadership joined our national partners at the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) in Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers on issues important to the accounting profession during the AICPA Spring Meeting of Council and Annual Members Meeting.

FICPA representatives participated in 18 congressional visits with lawmakers and staff to advocate for support on five key issues, including qualified relief for the victims of Hurricane Ian, a Congressional resolution on the fiscal state of the nation, establishing the accounting profession as a STEM career pathway, simplifying the tax filing extension process (SAFE Act) and expanding eligible uses of 529 savings plans to include fees and expenses required to obtain or maintain recognized postsecondary credentials, such as the Uniform CPA Exam.

“Our FICPA delegation shared valuable insights from the accounting profession with lawmakers and encouraged support for legislation that would benefit taxpayers and their advisors and improve tax administration,” said FICPA President & CEO Shelly Weir. “We highlighted principles of good tax policy as a foundation to create a more efficient tax system.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress has partnered with the accounting profession to help taxpayers and practitioners navigate IRS service issues, filing postponements and erroneous penalties. The introduction of important bipartisan legislation that supports taxpayers, practitioners and tax administration services is an extension of that partnership.

The FICPA asked members of Congress to support:

• Rep. Greg Steube's bill to treat Hurricane Ian as a qualified disaster for purposes of determining the tax treatment of certain disasterrelated personal casualty losses.
• The Simplify Automatic Filing Extensions (SAFE) Act would assist the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with receiving extensions earlier in the year, providing taxpayers, CPAs and the IRS with a streamlined process and reducing the need for many penalty abatement requests;
• The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, a bill that would expand eligible uses of 529 savings plans to include fees and expenses required to obtain or maintain recognized postsecondary credentials, including professional credentials and certifications, and provide accounting professionals with greater financial flexibility as they enter the workforce and seek to further their education;
• Legislation in both chambers to establish the accounting profession as a STEM career pathway, recognizing the value of accounting professionals, including CPAs, as technological leaders; and
• The Fiscal State of the Nation resolution, which would require the Comptroller General to make a presentation to a joint session of the House and Senate Budget committees on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) auditor’s report of the U.S. government’s financial statements. This resolution would promote greater transparency on the information included in the federal government’s financial report.

“CPAs have weathered some of the most challenging times in the history of tax administration,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA. “They have guided individuals and businesses through significant changes. We are grateful to have the partnership of many members of Congress on these important issues, and combined with the strong relationships and great advocacy work of the FICPA, we hope to gain the support of many more.”