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Executive Corner
With the changing of the colors comes the changing of seasons. It goes from vacation season to seminar season!! Now is the time to sign up for our fall seminars. We have TaxSpeaker Business Tax Update in Madison, TaxSpeaker 1040 Update in the WI Dells, and Gear Up 1040 in both Waukesha and Hudson. You can register by going to our website at www.waainc.org or call my office at Your board has been working hard at providing more benefits for the members. One thing they are doing is having round table discussions. The first round table was held last November after the first day of the TaxSpeaker 1040 seminar. The topic was converting from Creative Solutions to ACS. Out of this round table came a one day seminar put on by one member's firm to help people in the process of converting. It was very well received. This year we are having another round table discussion on "Working on your practice, Not in it". It is open to members with no charge. We will provide pizza and beer and a lot of networking with your peers. We would love to have you join us. Space is limited, so sign up when you register for the 1040 Update by TaxSpeaker or call me.
If you have a topic you would like to discuss, let me or any board member know. We are looking for more ideas!
Jolynn T. McIntosh
WAA Executive Director
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President's Report
Client data security has become a major issue for the IRS. In response to member input, we presented a Technology seminar by TaxSpeaker in September that included a lengthy discussion of the security issues that we face. Most of the attendees that I spoke with said "we have issues that need to be resolved." We continue to lead the way when it comes to seminar topics that need to be addressed now.
That leads us to the new overtime rules. Those rules will be discussed at our Business Tax Update seminar by TaxSpeaker on October 20th and 21st.
On Monday, November 28th, after day one of the 1040 Update,
we will be having a one hour roundtable discussion on making your practice more profitable. There are limited seats available, so register early. If you have any questions, please call the WAA office.
In addition to providing outstanding Continuing Professional Education, we continue to monitor the Wisconsin Legislature for
new laws that might impact your right to practice in this state.
WAA President
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IRS and Security Summit Partners Warn of Fake Tax Bill Emails
IR-2016-123, Sept. 22, 2016
WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service and its Security Summit partners today issued an alert to taxpayers and tax professionals to be on guard against fake emails purporting to contain an IRS tax bill related to the Affordable Care Act.
The IRS has received numerous reports around the country of scammers sending a fraudulent version of CP2000 notices for tax year 2015. Generally, the scam involves an email that includes the fake CP2000 as an attachment. The issue has been reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for investigation.
The CP2000 is a notice commonly mailed to taxpayers through the United States Postal Service. It is never sent as part of an email to taxpayers. The indicators are:
- These notices are being sent electronically, even though the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email or through social media platforms;
- The CP 2000 notices appear to be issued from an Austin, Texas, address;
- The underreported issue is related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requesting information regarding 2014 coverage;
- The payment voucher lists the letter number as 105C.
The fraudulent CP2000 notice included a payment request that taxpayers mail a check made out to "I.R.S." to the "Austin Processing Center" at a Post Office Box address. This is in addition to a "payment" link within the email itself.
Taxpayers or tax professionals who receive this scam email should forward it to [email protected] and then delete it from their email account. Taxpayers and tax professionals generally can do a keyword search on IRS.gov for any notice they receive. Taxpayers who receive a notice or letter can view explanations and images of common correspondence on IRS.gov at Understanding Your IRS Notice or Letter. A CP2000 is generated by the IRS Automated Underreporter Program when income reported from third-party sources such as an employer does not match the income reported on the tax return. It provides extensive instructions to taxpayers about what to do if they agree or disagree that additional tax is owed.
It also requests that a check be made out to "United States Treasury" if the taxpayer agrees additional tax is owed. Or, if taxpayers are unable to pay, it provides instructions for payment options such as installment payments.
The IRS and its Security Summit partners - the state tax agencies and the private-sector tax industry - are conducting a campaign to raise awareness among taxpayer and tax professionals about increasing their security and becoming familiar with various tax-related scams. Learn more at Taxes. Security. Together. or Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself. Taxpayers and tax professional should always beware of any unsolicited email purported to be from the IRS or any unknown source. They should never open an attachment or click on a link within an email sent by sources they do not know.
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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Final Rule: Overtime
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act
On May 18, 2016, President Obama and Secretary Perez announced the publication of the Department of Labor's final rule updating the overtime regulations, which will automatically extend overtime pay protections to over 4 million workers within the first year of implementation. This long-awaited update will result in a meaningful boost to many workers' wallets, and will go a long way toward realizing President Obama's commitment to ensuring every worker is compensated fairly for their hard work.
In 2014, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department to update the regulations defining which white collar workers are protected by the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime standards. Consistent with the President's goal of ensuring workers are paid a fair day's pay for a hard day's work, the memorandum instructed the Department to look for ways to modernize and simplify the regulations while ensuring that the FLSA's intended overtime protections are fully implemented.
The Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on July 6, 2015 ( 80 FR 38515) and invited interested parties to submit written comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov by September 4, 2015. The Department received over 270,000 comments in response to the NPRM from a variety of interested stakeholders. The feedback the Department received helped shape the Final Rule.
Key Provisions of the Final Rule
The Final Rule focuses primarily on updating the salary and compensation levels needed for Executive, Administrative and Professional workers to be exempt. Specifically, the Final Rule:
- Sets the standard salary level at the 40th percentile of earnings of full-time salaried workers in the lowest-wage Census Region, currently the South ($913 per week; $47,476 annually for a full-year worker);
- Sets the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (HCE) subject to a minimal duties test to the annual equivalent of the 90th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally ($134,004); and
- Establishes a mechanism for automatically updating the salary and compensation levels every three years to maintain the levels at the above percentiles and to ensure that they continue to provide useful and effective tests for exemption.
Additionally, the Final Rule amends the salary basis test to allow employers to use nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) to satisfy up to 10 percent of the new standard salary level.
The effective date of the final rule is December 1, 2016. The initial increases to the standard salary level (from $455 to $913 per week) and HCE total annual compensation requirement (from $100,000 to $134,004 per year) will be effective on that date. Future automatic updates to those thresholds will occur every three years, beginning on January 1, 2020.
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Welcome to our New Members!
Margaret Bare
Rhonda Simmons
Richard Chisick
Terry Klicko
Bruce Berndt
Linda Mularski
Donald Boltz
Amanda Hein
Zachary Thom
If any of these new members should not be
granted membership to the WAA please submit your objections to the Executive Director.
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2016
Seminars
Tax Speaker Business Tax Update
October 20th & 21st
Thursday & Friday
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sheraton Hotel
Madison, WI
Gear Up 1040-Waukesha
November 7 - 8, 2016
Monday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Country Springs Hotel
Waukesha, WI
1040 Update by Tax Speaker
November 28 - 29, 2016
Monday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Kalahari Resort
Wisconsin Dells, WI
1040 Update-Gear Up
December 5 - 6, 2016
Monday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Hudson House Inn
Hudson, WI
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at 1-800-237-4080.
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OFFICERS
President:
Mark Nelson Sr, EA, ABA
2581 S Kinnickinnic Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53207
Vice President:
Joe Suttner, CPA
1230 E Chestnut PO Box 187
Chiton, WI 53014
Chuck Kirsch, CPA
155 S. Jefferson St
Lancaster, WI 53813
Secretary:
Diane Wollack, CPA
PO Box 275
Waunakee, WI 53597
Treasurer:
Ben Gaus, Ea, ABA, ARA
PO Box 356
River Falls, WI 54022
NSA State Director:
Meg Schell,CPA
4375 Yellowstone Dr
Suite 102
Madison, WI 53719
Past President:
Mark Burbey,CPA
1102 S. 8th Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220
Directors:
Steve Kjer,CPA
2410 Main Street Ste D
West Bend, WI 53095
James Haas, ATP, CTP, CPB
401 Main St Ste 305
La Crosse, WI 54601
Stephanie Sartor
34 North 4th St
Black River Falls, WI 54615
John Runkel, EA, ABA
3707 Hamilton Ave
Altoona, WI 54720
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WAA Benefits
Seminars and Educational Forums
Accreditation
Local Chapter Involvement
Government Agency Liaison
Monitor Legislation
Insurance Programs
Accountants Protection Plan
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To raise professional standards and improve the practice of accountancy.
To strive for excellence in the profession.
To encourage accountants in a continuing program of
professional development.
To foster increased recognition for the profession in the public, private and educational sectors of our state.
To initiate legislative action and provide government liaison between the accounting profession and
government leaders.
To provide meetings and fellowship for accountants.
To promote the highest standard of ethical conduct among its members.
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