VSCPA Urges Quick Passage of 2010 Virginia Tax Conformity

February 1, 2010

A personal letter to all members of the House and Senate Finance Committees and House Appropriations Committee

Re: HB 614 (Purkey) and SB 545 (Colgan)  

The Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) supports HB 614 and SB 545 to conform the Commonwealth’s tax code to that of the Internal Revenue Code and urges you to quickly address this legislation. HB 614 and SB 545 seek to bring Virginia closer to conformity by moving the fixed date forward from December 31, 2008, to December 31, 2009.

Early passage of this legislation is critical for Virginia taxpayers. Though the bill has an emergency clause, each day the bill is delayed poses increased burdens on taxpayers, tax preparers — and ultimately the Virginia Department of Taxation (TAX) and the state’s bottom line.

  • The later the bill is passed, the more taxpayers and preparers will be inconvenienced and need to file amended returns to account for changes to the Virginia tax code as a result of the bill’s passage.
  • A flood of amended returns would create significant financial and administrative burden on TAX.
  • Without conformity, taxpayers could significantly overestimate their tax due in order to avoid penalties, resulting in a higher number of refunds issued due to the increased amended returns filed, which would ultimately reduce Virginia’s cash flow and skew revenue projections.

While it’s clear that reducing burdens on taxpayers and tax preparers is good public policy, it’s important to understand how repercussions of late passage could have a significant negative impact on the state’s already stressed budget.

On behalf of its 8,900 members, the VSCPA urges you to support HB 614 and SB 545 to move fixed date conformity to 2009 and consider this legislation as soon as possible. Thank you for your consideration and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any assistance to you on this or any other matter facing the Commonwealth. 

Questions and concerns may be directed to VSCPA Government Affairs Director Emily Walker at ewalker@vscpa.com or (804) 612-9428.

Sincerely,

 

James K. Walker, CPA
Chair, VSCPA Board of Directors



LAST UPDATED 2/1/2010

This content has not yet been rated.

1 Poor 3 Fair 5 Excellent
 1  2  3  4  5

Comments