Today Is CPA Day at the Virginia General Assembly

It’s CPA Day at the Virginia General Assembly, and VSCPA members and staff are busy visiting with legislators this morning. Members are introducing themselves and offering their assistance throughout the 2010 session, as well as discussing several important issues, including:

• SB 179 — Income tax laws; conformity to Internal Revenue Code
  Advances conformity with federal income tax laws to December 31, 2009, for taxable year 2009 and to December 31, 2010, for taxable year 2010, with three additional exceptions.
  
  The VSCPA supports this bill and is encouraging legislators to take early action to avoid major problems for tax preparers.

• HB 196 — Economics education and financial literacy; repeals requirement for instruction in certain schools
  Repeals the requirement for economics education and financial literacy instruction in middle and high schools.

AND

• HB 622 — Economics education and financial literacy; requires implementation through relevant Standards of Learning (SOL) programs, such as career and technical programs
  Allows local school boards to implement Virginia Board of Education (VBOA) objectives for economics education and financial literacy through other educational programs that meet VBOE objectives.
  
  The VSCPA opposes any legislation that jeopardizes Virginia’s new stand-alone course in personal finance as a requirement for high school graduation.
  
  
• SB 178 — Pass-through entities; penalties
  Revises the failure to file an information return and the failure to remit withholding tax penalties on pass-through entities.
  
  The VSCPA supports this legislation because it makes penalty provisions of pass-thru entity returns consistent with those of other types of returns.