Thursday, May 13, 2004

The IRS announced today that it will host a series of six Tax Forums this summer to help educate and serve the tax practitioner community. The dates and cities for each 3-day forum are:

• July 6-8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey

• July 20-22 in Orlando, Florida

• August 3-5 in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• August 17-19 in New Orleans, Louisiana

• August 31-September 2 in San Antonio, Texas

• September 14-16 in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Tax Forums are in their 14th year and drew 17,000 tax professionals last summer. The announcement describes this summers forum’s as follows:

The agenda for the 2004 Forums includes seminars on the new IRS e-Services program, retirement plans for small businesses, abusive tax avoidance transactions, the proposed revisions to IRS guidance on ethics and professional responsibility, privacy, faster account resolution, tax law changes and compliance initiatives, among others. The Forums will also continue the popular workshops “Applying for Tax-Exempt Status” and “How to Become an Enrolled Agent.” In addition, practitioners will have an opportunity at each Forum to bring their toughest unresolved case or question to IRS representatives for on-site resolution. IRS employees will also be on hand at each Forum to assist interested tax professionals in completing an application to participate in the IRS electronic return filing program.

The Forums feature a variety of basic and advanced seminars designed to provide the tax professional community with the latest and most complete information on a variety of IRS programs, practices and policies. In addition to receiving updates directly from top IRS executives, the Forums provide practitioners with an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with other practitioners and to view vendor exhibits to learn about the latest business technologies.

The cost is $99 for the three-day forum (a fraction of the cost of attending one of Madonna’s 2-hour summer concerts!)