In This Issue...

1. From the President
2. CSTC Academy
3. May Events
4. Expertise at Your Fingertips - CSTC Listserv
5. Membership, Value...and ADP Payroll Services
6. Welcome New CSTC Members
7. Legislative Advocacy
8. News from the IRS
9. 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

CSTC advances professionalism within the tax industry by:

• Providing quality education

• Creating networking opportunities

• Advocating professional standards

From the President

Please click the above image to watch the President's message

CONSTANCY AMID CHANGE

Most of us have been around long enough to realize that things constantly change. To expect that something won’t change is simply not logical. We see changes in the weather, the market, someone’s behavior, or well, the world economy. Who would have thought six weeks ago that we be at 20% unemployment with no professional sports? Who would have thought six weeks ago that the world to be in such turmoil over a virus? In 1979 the former United States Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson gave a speech called “Constancy Amid Change”. In Benson’s speech, he quoted a famous radio personality Albert Bowen who in 1944 wrote a book and had a radio program both called “Constancy Amid Change”. The purpose of Bowen’s radio show was to help people around the United States have better personal management during the financial turmoil surrounding the War in 1944. In Benson’s 1979 address, referring to Bowen’s radio program, he said, ”This present era (1979) seems very similar in many ways to those turbulent war years. Today we face many perplexing issues. In addition to significant international political problems, we are experiencing one of the most difficult economic periods we have faced in many decades - the problem of inflation and personal financial management.” Isn’t it interesting that in 1979 he quotes someone from 1944 and they are both feeling the effects of major financial difficulties? Clearly, we have been through financial hard times before and have survived.

Both Bowen and Benson provide that it is not the change or challenge that dictates how life will go, but how we respond to the change and challenges. Our happiness and general well-being is determined by how we treat others and ourselves during difficult times. The “constancy” amid the change is how we prepare for and respond to change. If we focus on our values and integrity, things will turn out fine.

In last month’s Reporter, I wrote an article identifying the grief and grieving we all experience when we face serious change like the current pandemic. We are still in that grieving process but since we are further into the pandemic and have more information, we can decide better what our options are.

FIVE ACTION STEPS

There are five action steps to take when faced with change: first; accept the change; second, acknowledge how you feel about it; third, assess your options; fourth, act appropriately, and; fifth ask for help or guidance. In assessing how to respond to our new ridiculously difficult changes, I like to think back on some of the other articles published in this newsletter. We talked about pushing forward long and hard enough to summit Mount Whitney, that happiness is a choice we make, that we should be grateful for what we do have, that being patient with others during hard times helps us find peace, and that we must keep in mind that all things have their seasons and that “this too shall pass”. 

THE BRIGHT SPOT OF CHANGE

The education system that we have managed as the California Society of Tax Consultants for the past 50 years was forced to come to an immediate halt due to the pandemic. We continue to need education and this worldwide pandemic has motivated us to make some of the changes that our CSTC leadership has been researching and considering for years. I am very excited that we are now going to be able to provide online education for our members. Starting this month, all of our chapters who continue to provide education will be doing so online through webinars or meeting software. As an organization, we are fully committed to providing education “no matter what comes”. This is the year we innovate and change the way we get our tax education. Our hand has been forced, our determination has been renewed, and doors have opened to allow us to move forward. Change is difficult. Change is constant. How we respond to change will determine our happiness and our measure of personal success. As we embrace our new way of doing business, let us reach out to each other for guidance and encouragement. Let’s take advantage of this change and use it to our benefit. 

Remember the action steps discussed in this article: 1 - Accept the change; 2 - acknowledge how you feel about it; 3 - assess your options; 4 - act appropriately, and 5 - ask for help or guidance. CSTC is committed to provide an excellent education to tax professionals and to “improve the tax industry one professional at a time”. We are 1 - accepting the change, 2 - acknowledging that these changes will uncomfortable and difficult at first, but, 3 - we are an education provider and there are other exciting options available, 4 - we are acting to provide education through the new channels, and 5 - we ask for your help in supporting these changes and in continuing to help CSTC provide an excellent education to tax professionals. As members of CSTC, together, we’ve got this! 

Thank you for all you do for CSTC!

Thank you for choosing to be a tax professional and providing excellent service to your clients!

Thank you for all of your support!

Your friend and President, Gary A Quackenbush

CSTC Academy

Like life itself, CSTC education is transforming. CSTC proudly introduces the CSTC Academy, a complete solution for tax education for CTEC Preparers, Enrolled Agents, CPAs and more.

The CSTC Academy will launch with the first-ever online version of the CSTC Summer Symposium. CSTC will be offering 80+ hours of live online continuing education with classes every Tuesday and Thursday morning beginning June 9, 2020. Classes range from one to four hours in length, beginning at 8:30 am Pacific time and concluding at 12:10 pm.

We will begin the sessions with a deep dive on COVID-19 tax relief, followed by sessions on net operating losses, representation, QBI, business entities, AB-5, trusts, California tax, SECURE Act, practice management and more!

To sweeten the deal, the CSTC Academy is offering the 2020 Symposium Package in addition to signing up for individual sessions. The 2020 Symposium package allows you to register for ALL sessions at roughly $5 per CE hour. We hope you agree that this is a deal too good to pass up!

CSTC education is designed for CTEC preparers, Enrolled Agents, CPAs, and attorneys and to fit the needs of all – from new preparers to highly experienced tax professionals. With one of the most affordable price points for educating tax professionals, we encourage you to explore how the CSTC Academy should be a must-attend for 2020.

We encourage you to explore our exceptional lineup of topics and speakers and give CSTC priority access to meeting your continuing education needs for 2020.

May Events

May 19, 2020

Topic: COVID-19 California Tax Update
East County San Diego Chapter Virtual Meeting
2 California Hours

May 20, 2020

Topic: Ethics - What Would You Do?
San Jose Chapter Virtual Meeting
2 Ethics Hours

May 21, 2020

Topic: Ethics - Tax Professional Legal Issues
San Diego Chapter Virtual Meeting
2 Ethics Hours

Click here to view the CSTC calendar.

Expertise at your Fingertips - CSTC Listserv

We all have those problematic situations where we wish we could reach out to those with the experience and knowledge to help solve an issue. In the past, CSTC members relied on the Yellow Pages service within the organization to accomplish this peer networking. I’m pleased to inform you that CSTC has taken that service to the next level.

It’s called the CSTC Listserv, and members are using it all day long to solve all sorts of problems. Here’s how it works. As a member, you join the Listserv by signing into your member profile on the CSTC website. Once you join the Listserv, you may post questions to other CSTC members, and they can respond at their leisure.

As the fallout from the COVID-19 lockdown continues to grow, the activity on the Listserv has exploded, and CSTC members are helping each other like never before. It takes the benefit of a CSTC membership to a whole new, and immediately rewarding, level.

When you join the Listserv, you will begin to receive emails from those posting questions, as well as all responses. It can result in quite a few emails, but I can assure you that each contains a little gem of knowledge that will ultimately provide a vast amount of new information and resources at your fingertips.

The postings have proven especially valuable as fellow tax professionals have had to manage the barrage of information from the COVID-19 related legislation. Members have been sharing the latest developments and we’ve learned tips and tricks for navigating the stimulus payment tools available on the IRS website.

If you aren’t a member of the CSTC Listserv, there’s no better time to join it than today. If you are not a member, this would be a great motivator to consider joining CSTC.

Stay healthy. Be wise, and we’ll see you on the CSTC Listserv.

By Rodney J. Couts, EA, CSTC Past President

Membership, Value…and ADP Payroll Services

CSTC is dedicated to connecting members with services that will help grow their tax practice, and bring members value above and beyond education and networking opportunities. I want to spotlight one of those opportunities… free payroll services for your tax practice. If you’re currently doing your own payroll, consider outsourcing your payroll to ADP, freeing up your time to provide valuable billable services of your own.

In addition to providing CSTC members free payroll services, members who take advantage of this opportunity will receive complimentary access to a number of practice management tools, industry research profiles, and ADP’s vast educational library complete with continuing education opportunities. There are also opportunities to generate additional revenue for your tax practice through ADP’s flexible partnership options.

So if you’re currently doing your own payroll, consider switching things up; try on ADP for size. Turn those non-billable hours into billable hours, and do it at no cost to you. I switched to ADP in 2018 and am very happy with their services.

For more information, check out The ADP-CSTC Partnership and get started today; or you may call the ADP-CSTC dedicated account team at 619.688.2726 to sign up today!

As always, I’d like to thank each and every member for their continued support of CSTC. Remember – membership begins with ‘ME’ – and by ‘ME’ I mean Y-O-U.

Jen Horton, E.A.
2nd VP Membership

Welcome New CSTC Members!

Please help us in joining our newest CSTC Members!

Ezequiel Hernandez
Los Angeles Chapter

Kaitlin Watt
Member-at-Large Chapter

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 | 320 Pine Ave, Suite #1050, Long Beach, CA 90802
Phone (949) 715-4192 | [email protected]