It’s All About Advocacy

We like to say ADVOCACY is the heart of the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA). But it is much more than that.

The NAEA is all about advocacy – raising awareness, influencing decision-makers, and driving change by supporting the enrolled agent (EA) profession.

Seventy-four EAs from 26 states–East Coast to West Coast–did just that when they came to Washington in May to participate in the NAEA’s Capitol Fly-In – from Farid Kanji (Simi Valley, California), a member of the NAEA since 1994 who had never attended a fly-in, to Ryan Stetler (Provo, Utah), a new NAEA member this year.

The NAEA Capitol Fly-In is a two-day event starting with a legislative conference featuring Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guest speakers and expert panelists followed by a day on Capitol Hill where EAs share NAEA’s policy priorities in meetings with their senators, representatives, and congressional tax writers.

NAEA Legislative Conference Highlights
Erin Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate, “The Seriousness of Taxpayer Identity Theft”
National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins opened the 2024 Fly-In Legislative Conference and engaged with EAs on various tax administration and IRS-related issues. One notable topic focused on the prevalence of taxpayer identity theft. Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are victims of tax-related identity theft each year. Collins said Identity thieves are often motivated by large credits to steal taxpayers’ personal identifying information and file fraudulent returns to divert taxpayers’ refunds to themselves.

Collins noted that the IRS is taking 22 months to process and send refunds to victims of tax-related identity theft, which is up from 19 months in fiscal year 2023. The increase has resulted in part from the issuance of pandemic-era credits such as economic impact payments, the additional child tax credit, and the advance child tax credit, which led to the IRS having a backlog of identity theft victim assistance (IDTVA) cases.

The lengthy delays in resolving these cases have also led to collection problems for taxpayers who have elected to apply an overpayment to the next tax year and may receive a collection notice because the IRS will not apply the overpayment until it resolves the identity theft case. Collins said it is a real problem and she would like to see the IRS be a help in the solution rather than causing more harm.

Collins also covered topics ranging from IRS spending priorities, minimum standards for return preparers, and IRS modernization and customer service.

“Perspectives on Recent Efforts to Modernize and Transform the IRS with Former IRS Commissioners Fred Goldberg and John Koskinen,” — Moderated by Bob Kerr, EA, Kerr Consulting LLC
Former IRS Commissioners Fred Goldberg (Chief Counsel 1984–86; Commissioner 1989–91) and John Koskinen (2013–17) brought their wisdom, perspective, and (perhaps most importantly) candor to a wide-ranging conversation.

The session kicked off with moderator Bob Kerr’s favorite public statement from yet another former commissioner, Charles Rossetti, who said of the IRS’s relationship with stakeholders: “The IRS should consult and then decide rather than decide and explain.” Kerr, Koskinen, and Goldberg talked about how important this approach is and how good the IRS is at adhering to it (with room for improvement).

Other topics discussed were Direct File, the tax gap, the IRS’s enforcement stance, especially concerning collection (failure to file/failure to pay), and the various challenges facing the agency today.

Commissioners Goldberg and Koskinen are still deeply connected to tax administration. In recent years they have dedicated time and talent (along with Charles Rossetti) to provide the IRS with a stable and adequate budget and the resources necessary to close the tax gap.

In an email to Kerr after the event, Mr. Goldberg shared how much he appreciates enrolled agents and the NAEA. High praise, indeed, from someone whose opinion matters to many.

“Efforts to Transform the IRS for the 21st Century,” — A Conversation with IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel and Megan Killian, NAEA Executive Vice President
Megan Killian and IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel talked candidly about a range of issues surrounding the Commissioner’s efforts to transform the IRS for the 21st century. He said the IRS has tremendous abilities to deliver extraordinary things if well provisioned. He said the agency needs to “tell the story in a balanced way, demonstrate we are learning from our mistakes, and articulate where we’re going.”

Werfel noted that part of his job is to be Cheerleader-in-Chief. He believes you can be the IRS, be iconically unpopular, and still drive tremendous value and sense of reward in the things you do because you do not need that appreciation.

Killian pressed Werfel to use the NAEA and EAs as a resource, to lean on the organization for its expertise and ability to test new tools and provide feedback to the IRS. Werfel said that kind of partnership is important and that the IRS could do a better job of focusing and promoting the EA community.

Werfel stated that one of the obstacles to substantive, long-term change is that the agency was in a budget-cut mindset for 12 years (2010–2022) and developed a pattern of recognition of how to do increasingly more with less. He said they got out of the habit of making investments in places needed such as training, security and control, and subject matter experts (SMEs) in service or enforcement.

In the move toward agility, he asked, “Do you solve the whole problem all at once or in increments?” He continued that once you try to understand the size and complexity, you see a host of operational challenges. There is always tension between service and privacy or between improving technology and new cyber threats. He said the IRS wants to do more online, and the more you do that, the more authentication risk and tensions start to arise. He said you can study and study and try to make the problem set smaller to allow the agency to solve the problem. If you size too big, five years later you are waiting for a launch that is not going to happen.

Killian stressed to Werfel the importance of prioritizing Tax Pro Accounts. She said that while Tax Pro Accounts have improved, EAs need top-notch, one-stop shopping. When EAs call the Practitioner Priority Service, they have to go through the often-cumbersome authentication process and navigate an inefficient system.

On the topic of balanced enforcement and the recent cracking down on nonfilers, Werfel said the reason the IRS has not done this before is that staff do not send letters they cannot follow up on – they have to have the infrastructure. They are starting at the upper end of the wealth spectrum for a variety of reasons. He said in all dimensions of the tax gap, as the agency gains momentum on the right staff size, SMEs, and technology, they will get increasingly more effective in addressing nonfiling. Werfel said he wants to be fair and balanced and make sure taxpayers can dispute if they think the IRS has gotten it wrong. He said they know when they move forward, they have to approach from the standpoint that the taxpayer has the right opportunity to tell her or his position.

In conclusion, Werfel said a well-functioning tax authority is to everyone’s benefit and will reduce stress and burden on taxpayers and the IRS. He said that under his leadership the IRS will own its mistakes, and will not be perfect, but he believes the direction they are going should lift taxpayers. Killian asked Werfel to please prioritize tax professionals as they know how to use the system and use it effectively.

“Taxes, Congress, and the IRS in 2023 – A Journalist’s Perspective” — Moderated by Dani Schwader, EA, and Chair, NAEA Government Relations Committee
Journalists Richard Rubin, US Tax Policy reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Washington, DC, Samantha Handler, a congressional reporter at Bloomberg Tax, and Bernie Becker, tax reporter for POLITICO Pro graciously shared their time to participate in this panel.

We appreciated having these journalists join us because they have developed relationships with policymakers on Capitol Hill who can give them unique perspectives on what is happening now, and what is coming up that we are not discussing yet. They can also give us in-depth background into how these issues have developed and the direction of their resolution.

Our discussion with the panel began with the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which passed in the House and stalled in the Senate ever since. While it seems that the longer this legislation sits in the Senate the less likely it is to come to vote, our journalists felt that all hope of getting this bill passed is not gone. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would like to get everyone’s votes for or against this bipartisan legislation on the record before the election.

The panelists are also looking forward to the negotiations surrounding the replacement of tax law when the current tax law expires in 2025. Richard Rubin stated that over half of the House Ways and Means Committee members today were not involved in the negotiations of the last tax bill in 2017. All three journalists agreed that the first challenge in negotiating new tax law is bringing new members of the committee and their aides up to speed on the process. As with most items of consequence, the upcoming elections will play a huge role in determining any actions that these committees propose. The stated goal of some members of Congress to have a law in place by the end of January 2026 brought skepticism from our panelists and a light chuckle of disbelief from the audience.

“Tax Priorities of the 118th Congress and Beyond – The Perspective of the Congressional Tax Writing Committees” — Moderated by Thad Inge, NAEA Legislative Counsel, and Vice President, Van Scoyoc Associates
One of the issues Inge dove right into was the chances for a comprehensive tax administration bill shortly, similar to what we saw in 2019 with the Taxpayer First Act. LoPresti and Snyder, representing Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID), respectively, shared that a bipartisan tax administration bill focusing on improving the IRS and relying heavily on past suggestions from the Taxpayer Advocate’s annual reports to Congress is in the works. LoPresti and Snyder made clear that there are several good, pent-up ideas that they would like to pass into law.

One issue, in particular, that raised passion in the room was minimum standards for tax preparers. LoPresti and Snyder talked about their bipartisan work to find a path forward on the issue. Clerget indicated there continues to be skepticism and opposition from some Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee but did not rule out a bipartisan path forward to passing legislation. LoPresti, echoing some of the sentiment in the audience, said you would be hard-pressed to find a congressional office that could articulate a good reason to be against some sort of minimum standards.

The panel then weighed in on the currently stalled tax extenders legislation in the Senate and the 2025 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expiring provisions. After the House overwhelmingly passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which was a compromise bill between Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Chairman Wyden, the legislation has largely died in the Senate due to opposition from Ranking Member Crapo. With staff representing all three members of the panel, none of the panelists were able to lay out a clear path forward for the legislation.

Regarding 2025 tax legislation, Clerget discussed the Republican working groups that have been formed on Ways and Means and some of the internal challenges the Republican caucus faces in aligning their priorities. LoPresti made clear that Wyden’s priority is to pay for any package with taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

Where We Go from Here
The presidential and congressional elections will have a significant impact on a range of issues for EAs, including tax legislation and IRS funding and modernization. The expiring TCJA provisions in 2025 are shaping up to be a monumental event for Congress, with all provisions on the table for potential changes as policymakers seek to balance individual and business provisions and the price tag they carry. The NAEA will continue to advance our policy priorities, including minimum standards for tax preparers, better tools for tax professionals, and more balanced enforcement by the IRS. The NAEA is also focused on making sure the IRS has the resources it needs to modernize and improve its technology and customer service.