In This Issue...

1. From the CSTC President
2. Registration is OPEN for the 2023 Summer Symposium
3. Submit your Nomination for the CSTC Member of the Year!
4. May Events
5. Welcome New CSTC Members
6. Legislative Advocacy
7. News from the IRS
8. 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

President's Column
Cooking, Road Trips, and Gardens

Cooking. Road trips. Gardens. What do these three things have in common?

They’re things I like to do? They’re hobbies? They’re ways to improve your physical and mental health?

Yes, they’re all of these. And they’re also common metaphors for planning. The road trip analogy is straightforward: a road trip begins with planning – choose a destination, select a route, decide on stops along the way, and set a timeline. And these planning steps can be applied to pretty much any project, from a one-time project to a life plan.

The garden analogy is more nuanced. A plan for a garden involves planning within different parts of the whole. There’s the selection of the site and the plants that can flourish in those conditions. Then there’s the groundwork to prepare the soil. And the planting of the seeds. And the maintenance to water and weed the garden. Plus gardens are by nature cyclical and evolving, so many things are going on at once. Plus they are vulnerable to things outside our control, such as the weather or a bug infestation.

The cooking metaphor looks at planning from a different angle. When thinking about what to have for dinner, it’s easy to turn to our go-to list of family favorites – maybe spaghetti, or chicken soup, or chili, or stir-fry. And we usually have the ingredients for those dinners on hand. But sometimes we want to eat something different or to try something new, and that takes planning. We have to choose a recipe, shop for the ingredients, and spend the time to prepare it.

So how do these analogies apply to us? We probably all do some amount of planning in our business.  Sometimes it’s straightforward forward like the road trip – what I need to get through tax season: supplies, personnel, and research materials. Sometimes we plan on a larger scale – where I want to go with my business. This, like the garden, involves multiple levels of planning over different time periods as well as unplanned interferences from the outside, like a pandemic or an extended tax season.

And sometimes we decide to try something new – maybe improving our computer skills, learning how to prepare trust returns, reaching out to potential clients, or upgrading our technology. But then we jump into our workday and pull out the same familiar recipes. We check our schedule, take care of what is pressing, check to be sure we’re meeting deadlines, respond to client requests, etc., etc. until the day’s over. And the next day’s the same.

That’s when we need to do some cooking-type planning. First, choose what we want to do (the menu). Then list what’s needed to get this done (the ingredients) and set up a step-by-step plan (the recipe). Be sure there’s someone in charge (the cook) and a time to do the cooking. Then that new thing we want to try will actually happen.

Tax season is like year-end for us, and now we have eight months open in front of us. Of course, there are plenty of things to fill those months – from extensions to vacations – but we can also decide to do that new project we’ve been thinking about. Select the recipe, gather the ingredients, and you’re ready to implement your plan.

Happy cooking!

Linda Dong
CSTC President 

Registration is OPEN for the 2023 Summer Symposium!

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be spending the next few weeks dreaming about everything that you’ll finally be able to do now that tax season has ended: laundry, cooking, sleeping, seeing your family, and, of course, planning for the Summer Symposium.

Obviously, the Symposium is a great place to get your education for the year (you can get all of your CTEC hours in one go!) and we have a fantastic lineup this year, if I do say so myself.  But Symposium isn’t just about education. 

Are you exploring options for software?  Looking for a great insurance provider for your E&O?  Maybe you’re thinking about taking the leap to become an EA and want a training course.  Or perhaps you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to bend the ear of some representatives from the IRS and FTB.  You can find all this and more in the exhibitor area!  Mix and mingle with all of our exhibitors at the exhibitor reception Monday evening.

Symposium is also a great opportunity to network with tax professionals from all across the state and beyond.  I look forward to seeing my Symposium friends, members from the north and south that I only get to see once a year.  Make new connections at the Sunday welcome reception, or over breakfast before our morning sessions. 

Sign up here to join us at the beautifully remodeled Sahara Hotel.  I can’t wait to see you there!

Shannon Hall
CSTC First Vice President and Summer Symposium Chair

Summer-Symposium Schedule-at-a-Glance

Member of the Year
Nominations are open!

At the heart of CSTC are those individuals who give so freely of their time to further the CSTC mission. The Member of the Year Award is CSTC’s highest honor, and acknowledges an outstanding individual for their extraordinary efforts in helping their fellow tax professionals by supporting CSTC. Individuals are nominated by other CSTC members, and a panel of judges selects the final recipient. The Award will be presented at the virtual CSTC Annual Meeting luncheon on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

The deadline to fill out this form is May 19, 2023.

Click here to submit your vote!

Calendar of Events
May 2023

May 3, 2023

CA Tax Updates
Temecula Valley Chapter In-Person Meeting
2 California hours (Topics covering California law issues)
Click here to learn more and register

What to Know About Amended and Superseded Returns
San Francisco Bay Chapter Virtual Meeting
2 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

May 4, 2023

Tax and Law - Renter v Commissioner
San Gabriel Valley Chapter In-Person Meeting
2 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

May 10, 2023

Current Hot Topics in Tax Ethics
Orange County Chapter In-Person Meeting
2 Ethics hours (Topics meeting the ethics requirements under Cir 230)
Click here to learn more and register

May 11, 2023

Group Discussion - Pesky Tax Problems
North County San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
2 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

May 18, 2022

Surviving the Season Social and Oops! I made a Mistake
San Diego Chapter In-Person Meeting
2 Federal Law hours (Topics covering existing tax law)
Click here to learn more and register

May 31, 2023

Ethics
Greater Long Beach Chapter Meeting
2 Ethics hours (Topics meeting the ethics requirements under Cir 230)
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!

Michael Bradley
San Gabriel Valley Chapter

Paula Cannon
Temecula Valley Chapter

Theodore Caruthers III
Orange County Chapter

Alfonza Darnell
San Francisco Bay Chapter

Janet Fitzgerald
San Diego-North County Chapter

Congratulations to our new CSTC members!

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 | PO Box 10, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267
Phone (949) 715-4192 | [email protected]