Continuing Education
CPE Program Level: Overview
1 CPE Credit Recommended; NO prerequisites or advance preparation
CTEC Course #: 3022-CE-0064
ELMS Course #: 22896
CPE credits and certificates are not available for this program.
Program Content
Are your clients complaining that they can't catch a break on their taxes? This show covers provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that will help you prepare your client's individual 2009 tax returns. IRS and industry experts will discuss the many related credits, deductions and incentives and how they benefit individuals.
Learning Objectives
The primary learning objective is to maintain or increase competency of tax practitioners through expert discussion, explanation and interactive questioning. The programs are designed for learners (tax professionals) to exercise a practical understanding of new and current tax policies, as well as the latest changes, in a complex and continually changing industry.
Les Witmer is currently a Communications Consultant in Atlanta. He has served as the moderator for Tax Talk Today since March 2000. He retired after a distinguished career of 34 years with the Federal Government serving the last 23 years with the Internal Revenue Service. His last year with the IRS he worked on the design of the Wage and Investment Division and retired as the Acting Director of Communications for that Division. He was responsible for the communications programs that included employee communications, media relations, practitioner and external stakeholder relations, congressional affairs, public and government liaison and other public relations and information programs.
He previously held responsible IRS communications positions including first Director of Internal Communications for the IRS in Washington, D.C., Assistant to the Southeast Regional Commissioner for Public Affairs and district Public Affairs positions serving as the chief local spokesperson on Federal tax matters.
During his last five years with the IRS, Les was periodically assigned by U.S. Treasury Department to the Office of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to be a member of an international team that advised and conducted seminars on Public Relations and Customer Service programs to tax and ministry of finance officials from Russia and former Soviet Bloc Countries. Preceding IRS, he served with the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in Vietnam, public affairs officer at Ft. Meade, MD, instructor at Department of Defense Information School (DINFOS) and other active duty and reserve assignments.
He retired as a Colonel, U.S. Army Reserves. He's an accredited member and past committee chairman, board member and officer of the Atlanta Chapter of Public Relations Society of America. Les is active in the community and has served in various other capacities including board member for the Georgia Council on Economic Education and worked with the 1996 Olympic Organizational Committee. He holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi and M.S. in Public Administration from the American University.
Host
Phyllis Grimes
Chief, Stakeholder Liaison
Small Business/Self-Employed Division
Internal Revenue Service
Ms. Grimes is the Chief, Stakeholder Liaison for Industry Outreach. In this role, she is responsible for partnering with the small business community to provide education and outreach related to tax administration. Her office serves as a liaison between various industry groups/associations and the IRS to share information, elevate and resolve issues, and further overall tax compliance.
Grimes began her IRS career in 2000 in the Executive Development Program in Washington, DC. Since then, she has held other positions to include Acting Deputy Director for the Office of Tax Administration Coordination, working very closely with the IRS Commissioner's Office and Director of Business Marketing Services, where she was responsible for marketing related to IRS' electronic products and programs.
Prior to joining the IRS, Ms. Grimes enjoyed a long management and executive career in the financial services industry with Bank of America. Ms. Grimes earned both an M.B.A. and B.S. in Finance from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.
Panelists
Donna Rodriguez, CPA, JD
Managing Partner
Donna L. Rodriguez, PLLC
Donna Rodriguez, CPA, JD, is the managing member of Donna L. Rodriguez, PLLC located in The Woodlands, Texas, where she operates a full service accounting and tax practice focusing on start up and small to medium companies. She is an attorney and Certified Public Accountant with a diverse background as corporate counsel, chief financial officer for an international conglomerate, Special U.S. Attorney/Assistant Attorney General-Guam, and with Ernst & Young. As a special US Attorney assigned to prosecute tax crimes in Guam, she became very familiar with the Tax Code. Ms. Rodriguez has a Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma and a BSBA degree in Accounting from the University of Texas. Donna is currently the SB/SE Chair for the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council.
Gerard H. Schreiber Jr., CPA
Partner
Schreiber & Schreiber
Jerry Schreiber is a Partner in the local accounting firm of Schreiber & Schreiber with expertise in accounting, tax, and consulting matters of individuals and small businesses. He received his BBA from Loyola University and is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Texas. He is a member of the AICPA, SLCPA, New Orleans Estate Planning council. He currently serves on the AICPA IRS Practice and Procedures Committee and has served on the AICPA Tax PRactice Responsibilities Committee, SSTS Revision Task Force, Tax Forms Committee, Tax Forms and Education Task Force, and Circular 230 Education Task Force.
He has authored continuing education courses on Individual Income Taxes, Current Developments, Casualty Losses, Hurrincane Katrina Tax Matters, GO Zone Act, and Circular 230.
Amy L. Stanton
Branch Chief
Wage & Investment (W&I) Submission Processing
Paper Processing Branch
Internal Revenue Service
Amy Stanton, Branch Chief for the Wage & Investment (W&I) Submission Processing Paper Processing Branch, holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Government from Suffolk University in Boston. She graduated in 1986, the year she started her career with the IRS as a grade 4 seasonal tax examining clerk in UnderReporter at the Andover Service Center located in Andover, Massachusetts. Since then Amy has held various positions in both W&I's Accounts Management and Submission Processing. A Senior Manager since 2004, she has also served as the Document Perfection Operation Manager and Planning & Analysis Chief in Andover and the Coordination and Project Management Branch Chief at Submission Processing headquarters in New Carrollton. She is a member of the 2008 Executive Readiness class. Born and raised in Andover, Massachusetts and a lifetime resident of the state, Amy just recently relocated to Northern Virginia.
Virginia M. Tarris
Tax Law Specialist (Reviewer)
Individual Tax Forms and Publications
Internal Revenue Service
Ms. Tarris is a Tax Law Specialist in the Tax Forms and Publications division at the Internal Revenue Service. Her duties include analyzing legislation, regulations, and revenue rulings and procedures to determine their impact on current forms, instructions, and publications, as well as reviewing changes to forms, instructions, or publications for accuracy.
Prior to joining the IRS in 2006, Ms. Tarris was a tax attorney at a large corporation. She recently presented the Overview of 2008 Income Tax Law Changes at two of the 2008 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums and spoke on the First-Time Homebuyers Credit at the Annual National Association of Realtors Meeting in Orlando, FL.
Ms. Tarris earned both her J.D. and her Master of Laws in Taxation degrees from Georgetown University.
