I’m back!
I apologize for the long delay in returning to this blog – but I have been working away on the GD extensions I was forced to file this year. Now that I am pretty much caught up I want to return to semi-regular posting to the NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG.
I thought I would begin my return by discussing the recent IRS Nationwide Tax Forum held at the New York Hilton on 53rd Street and Avenue of the Americas this week.
I had attended the IRS Forum (for the first time) at the New York Hilton two years ago and, while I had at the time promised to never again attend in NYC if the location remained the same, I decided to give it another try this year.
Nothing has changed. I truly hate the New York Hilton as a location. While there is nothing wrong with the actual Hilton facilities, I do not want to have to schlep from 40th Street and Eighth Ave to 53rd and Ave of the Americas for three days. Luckily this time the weather was a bit more pleasant - it is not just the heat but the actual schlep.
The Marriot Marquis or another hotel in the lower 40s would be “more better” for those of us who commute from NJ into NYC via the Port Authority Bus Terminal. What would be even much “more better” would be returning to Atlantic City, where the Forum has been held three years ago, as the Northeast US location.
The room rate at the Hilton ($229.00 plus tax) was prohibitive for a single, as would be slightly less expensive alternatives in the area. Midtown New York is probably more expensive than any other conference location. The actual amount of educational value I would receive at the Forum would not justify such an excessive expense. Even driving in would cost close to $50.00 per day (valet parking at the hotel was $42.00), unless I wanted to shop around.
When I first reviewed the daily schedule for the Forum online I planned on attending sessions on all three days – a full 8:00 am to 5:15 pm on Tuesday, 4 sessions on Wednesday, and 2 on Thursday. As was the case two years ago, as the day went on Tuesday I decided to skip Thursday altogether and, eventually, Wednesday as well. It really was not worth it for me.
While the session topics I had planned to attend on Wednesday and Thursday interested me, the Forum format of 50-minute sessions do not provide for more than a very general cursory review of the topic, with no real depth. One can barely touch the surface of topics like “Tax Issues on Distributions from Retirement Plans”, “Tax Rules Relating to Home Ownership”, and especially “Depreciation from Start to Finish” (you can barely cover the start) in only 50 minutes.
As a 35 year veteran tax preparer, while the Forum’s educational sessions are for the most part excellent for what they are, I really do not learn too much, if anything, new. The sessions I attended were excellent presentations, but for me merely a general review of what I already knew and nothing more.
The IRS Tax Forum is not my only source of continuing education. I attend the local and national conferences and seminars of the NATP and NSTP each year. The Forum is only a supplement, something I sign up for because the registration fee is extremely reasonable. The education provided by the Forums is really not sufficient to be one’s only source of updates and refreshers. Its main value is to provide current information on IRS services and resources and the IRS prospective on tax issues.
I do not file returns using software or electronically (I do all 350-400 by hand). While many tax professionals would be interested in new developments in this area I am not. I do not do client representation, unless absolutely necessary, and do not have any currently pending cases worthy of bringing to Case Resolution, although I do agree that this is a very important and welcome component of the Forum for many other preparers.
It is always good to hear the IRS take on income tax law and tax form changes, and the Forms and Publications section always does a good job with this topic, given time constrictions, but this alone does not justify a large expense. The Keynote Address is nice (one always likes his back patted) but certainly not substantive.
Occasionally there will be an extremely excellent, important and relevant topic on the schedule. Last year’s Forum had such a session on the GAO report to Congress on fast food tax preparer errors. There was nothing as interesting this year, although the Circular 230 update was especially relevant considering recent legislation.
So my comments on the Forum have not really changed over the three years I have been attending:
· The session length should be more flexible, with more involved topics given more time than the standard 50-minute hour. Some subjects can be covered properly in such a limited time frame, but most cannot.
· What the Forum does well it does very well - the express registration process and scanning at each session has truly been perfected. I wish other organizations could do the same.
· The “classrooms” are often too crowded, and there are no tables provided for us to use to properly take notes.
· I was very pleased that this year they skipped the free IRS T-Shirt as one of the “hand-outs” – although there was still no free coffee which I had recommended as a substitute.
For me I will get the most value from the Forum if I can pair it with an already existing NSTP or NATP conference, like I did last year with the NSTP regional conference in Chicago. The 2008 schedule of Forums has been announced, and the IRS will be returning the New York Hilton as its Northeast US location. I plan to attend the Forum in Atlanta next year, as both the NSTP and NATP will be having there annual conferences there around the same time.
I welcome the comments of fellow 2007 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum attendees.
TAFN
I apologize for the long delay in returning to this blog – but I have been working away on the GD extensions I was forced to file this year. Now that I am pretty much caught up I want to return to semi-regular posting to the NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG.
I thought I would begin my return by discussing the recent IRS Nationwide Tax Forum held at the New York Hilton on 53rd Street and Avenue of the Americas this week.
I had attended the IRS Forum (for the first time) at the New York Hilton two years ago and, while I had at the time promised to never again attend in NYC if the location remained the same, I decided to give it another try this year.
Nothing has changed. I truly hate the New York Hilton as a location. While there is nothing wrong with the actual Hilton facilities, I do not want to have to schlep from 40th Street and Eighth Ave to 53rd and Ave of the Americas for three days. Luckily this time the weather was a bit more pleasant - it is not just the heat but the actual schlep.
The Marriot Marquis or another hotel in the lower 40s would be “more better” for those of us who commute from NJ into NYC via the Port Authority Bus Terminal. What would be even much “more better” would be returning to Atlantic City, where the Forum has been held three years ago, as the Northeast US location.
The room rate at the Hilton ($229.00 plus tax) was prohibitive for a single, as would be slightly less expensive alternatives in the area. Midtown New York is probably more expensive than any other conference location. The actual amount of educational value I would receive at the Forum would not justify such an excessive expense. Even driving in would cost close to $50.00 per day (valet parking at the hotel was $42.00), unless I wanted to shop around.
When I first reviewed the daily schedule for the Forum online I planned on attending sessions on all three days – a full 8:00 am to 5:15 pm on Tuesday, 4 sessions on Wednesday, and 2 on Thursday. As was the case two years ago, as the day went on Tuesday I decided to skip Thursday altogether and, eventually, Wednesday as well. It really was not worth it for me.
While the session topics I had planned to attend on Wednesday and Thursday interested me, the Forum format of 50-minute sessions do not provide for more than a very general cursory review of the topic, with no real depth. One can barely touch the surface of topics like “Tax Issues on Distributions from Retirement Plans”, “Tax Rules Relating to Home Ownership”, and especially “Depreciation from Start to Finish” (you can barely cover the start) in only 50 minutes.
As a 35 year veteran tax preparer, while the Forum’s educational sessions are for the most part excellent for what they are, I really do not learn too much, if anything, new. The sessions I attended were excellent presentations, but for me merely a general review of what I already knew and nothing more.
The IRS Tax Forum is not my only source of continuing education. I attend the local and national conferences and seminars of the NATP and NSTP each year. The Forum is only a supplement, something I sign up for because the registration fee is extremely reasonable. The education provided by the Forums is really not sufficient to be one’s only source of updates and refreshers. Its main value is to provide current information on IRS services and resources and the IRS prospective on tax issues.
I do not file returns using software or electronically (I do all 350-400 by hand). While many tax professionals would be interested in new developments in this area I am not. I do not do client representation, unless absolutely necessary, and do not have any currently pending cases worthy of bringing to Case Resolution, although I do agree that this is a very important and welcome component of the Forum for many other preparers.
It is always good to hear the IRS take on income tax law and tax form changes, and the Forms and Publications section always does a good job with this topic, given time constrictions, but this alone does not justify a large expense. The Keynote Address is nice (one always likes his back patted) but certainly not substantive.
Occasionally there will be an extremely excellent, important and relevant topic on the schedule. Last year’s Forum had such a session on the GAO report to Congress on fast food tax preparer errors. There was nothing as interesting this year, although the Circular 230 update was especially relevant considering recent legislation.
So my comments on the Forum have not really changed over the three years I have been attending:
· The session length should be more flexible, with more involved topics given more time than the standard 50-minute hour. Some subjects can be covered properly in such a limited time frame, but most cannot.
· What the Forum does well it does very well - the express registration process and scanning at each session has truly been perfected. I wish other organizations could do the same.
· The “classrooms” are often too crowded, and there are no tables provided for us to use to properly take notes.
· I was very pleased that this year they skipped the free IRS T-Shirt as one of the “hand-outs” – although there was still no free coffee which I had recommended as a substitute.
For me I will get the most value from the Forum if I can pair it with an already existing NSTP or NATP conference, like I did last year with the NSTP regional conference in Chicago. The 2008 schedule of Forums has been announced, and the IRS will be returning the New York Hilton as its Northeast US location. I plan to attend the Forum in Atlanta next year, as both the NSTP and NATP will be having there annual conferences there around the same time.
I welcome the comments of fellow 2007 IRS Nationwide Tax Forum attendees.
TAFN
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