Looking Ahead: More Queens Activities

Looking Ahead: More Queens Activities

By Thomas Boyd, Queens Chapter President

Hope all is going well for everyone in the midst of busy season.

The chapter’s board met in February to review last year’s activities and to plan for the current year. There was a consensus that the annual tax conference went over well. Responses from attendees were very positive. We plan to hold the tax conference this year in October or November; the specific date will be announced. The board also thought the networking session held with the Queens Chamber of Commerce was a success.

Hopefully, we can develop a similar relationship with attorneys. We would also like to run a joint session with the Queens Bar Association similar to the pension plans session held two years ago. Harvey Beringer will work on this project. There was also some interest in developing relationships with bankers. If anyone has suggestions in these areas, please feel free to contact us.

The State Society’s Committee on Committee Operations (COCO) has endorsed a plan to increase communications and cooperation between the Society’s statewide committees and the chapters. The plan stresses improved communications and increased participation through quarterly conference calls. Five board members volunteered to monitor 14 state committees. This should allow us to pass down information to our chapter members.

The board would like to pursue the possibility of holding a technical meeting for members on practice management. This will help practitioners develop ideas on how to better serve their clients and market their services. We are in the process of contacting speakers. Such a meeting would take place after tax season.

The chair of the chapter’s Tax Committee, Ed Torres, sent out a notice regarding the problems some accountants are experiencing regarding the special 30%/50% depreciation allowance. You can elect out of taking this bonus depreciation by attaching a statement to your timely filed tax return. If you file the return without making an election, you can make the election by filing an amended return within six months of the due date of the return excluding extensions. Does this mean that if you failed to attach such a notice to the tax return and did not take the special allowance depreciation, you lose it? The IRS may take this position.

These are just a few comments to bring you up to date on chapter activities and plans. Keep the faith. The end of tax season is in sight.