Since its inception the Tax Preparation business has been dominated by professional full time IRS authorized E-File Professionals.  The new administrations $154 billion dollar stimulus addition might be changing that landscape.  "Anytime you pour billions of dollars of Government Funding into specific programs that are administered by one industry, that industry is going to attract a lot of outside special interest for all the wrong reasons".  Not only is the industry attracting a lot of outside special interest from non profit community organizations these same groups are launching their entry into the industry leading propaganda attacks on the private sector.  The services provided by the nations 200,000 plus authorized E-File professionals has been the back bone behind the distribution of 100's of billions of dollars in tax credits for low and middle income families in every area of the country for the last 20 plus years.  It's one of the most frequented industrys in the nation with a consumer loyalty rate far beyond that of most any other professional service. 

Now, outside special interest groups everywhere are looking to get their share of the money.  Leading sabotaging propaganda crusades against the business owners who spent years establishing their business and the industry, these special interest groups looking to exploit the tax preparation business are willing to mislead public officials with half truths and outright lies in order to gain a foot hold over the industry while exploiting the Grant programs now available to them.  One group in Alabama went so far as to promote false findings from their own fraudulent investigation in an attempt to pass legislation in the state that would have given them full power and authority over the industry across the state.  NITPA was formed in Alabama to lobby against those fraudulent propaganda attempts to rule the industry and exploit the new Grant programs.  This Alabama group wanted to pass a licensing board that would charge fees to the private tax offices and allow the special interest group to access those fees in order to gain matching money and exploit the new federal Grant program in Alabama.  On May 14th the Alabama Legislature agreed with NITPA and refused to allow the special interest group to pass their own hand written Legislative Agenda. As noted in a recent Business Week article NITPA was the only organization lobbying to protect the industry and it's base of small business owner operators throughout the state. 

Tax Preparers in Alabama are finally recovering from an all out legislative battle against a special interest group who lobbied to gain control and access over the states entire E-File tax industry.  NITPA successfully defended the industry from an all out sabotaging propaganda crusade whereby one special interest group, Impact Alabama attempted to re-write the laws in Alabama and enforce their own control over the states 4,227 E-File small business owners.  Their propaganda campaign of half truths and out right lies cost many small business owners in Alabama a great deal of business and we intend to prevent this from happening again.  People shouldn't be allowed to lie and make the allegations they made nor should they be able to get tax payer money in the form of Grants and use those proceeds to attack the very industry that made their work possible.  This group has violated the publics trust and set out to mislead public officials for their own personal and political gain.  Their lies and fraudulent claims cost a lot of business owners to loose customers during tax season and for that they will be held accountable.  Our organization intends to help those who were violated by these attacks and prevent these type occurrences from happening again in Alabama. Tax Preparers from across the state are meeting in Birmingham on June 25th to discuss industry issues and interest.  For more information please visit online www.nitpa.com

In an attempt to mislead officials and tax preparers throughout the state, Impact Alabama (the special interest group who sabotaged the Tax Industry with a fraudulent investigative report in an all out effort to get their own hand written Legislation passed in the state) put out a letter to officials and industry professionals noting that they had no intentions of using any money from the fees paid in by Tax Offices to the Licensing Board they were attempting to create.  Their press release and letter crusaded attempted to discredit NITPA and it's president J.C. Snowden by claiming Snowden was making false allegations regarding their interest and that they had never had any desire to use monies from fees paid in by the newly proposed "Alabama Tax Payer Protection and Assistance Act". 

Throughout this entire process, Impact Alabama and their head crusader Mr. Stephen Black have done nothing but mislead people with half truths and out right lies.  Their attempt to say our organization wasn't telling the truth about their real intentions is, humorous to say the least.  We have clear evidence generated by them that clearly states their intentions to use those funds paid by tax offices in an effort to get matching Grant funds from the newly enhanced VITA Grant program.  A copy of this can be read on our site by visiting www.nitpa.com.  We've posted it on the front page because we want the public, the officials and the professional tax preparers in Alabama to know the truth and to realize just how close they came to being controlled by this special interest group who was willing to lie, promote their own fraudulent investigation and ruin small business owners in the state just so they could benefit personally and politically. 

Special Interest Groups across the country are seeking to gain unprecedented access and control over the Tax Preparation Industry. 

The additional $154 billion dollar stimulus legislation and a new unlimited funding mechanism from the Omnibus Appropriations Act enhanced in February 2009 is attracting a host of new special interest looking to gain unprecedented access and control over the entire Tax Preparation Industry.  Using the same consistent press releases throughout the country special interest groups seeking to exploit the tax industry are driving a propaganda campaign to tarnish the image and business of every independent tax office owner in the country.  Many of them are using funds granted to them by Congress in 2007 to improve their own accuracy rates, which in 2006 denoted Volunteer Tax Assistance sites as having a 36% accuracy rate, to attack the private business owners operating in the tax industry.  The Grant Programs passed in Congress during 2007 were initiated to provide additional funding to the VITA program so they could significantly improve their history of inaccurate tax returns.  Now many are exploiting these programs to help them attack the private tax office owners in an all out attempt to pass unprecedented regulations, sanctions and licensing fees in various states across the country. 

In Alabama one such group set out on a yearlong crusade to destroy the image and business of independent business owners in the state while at the same time attempting to pass their own Legislation that would have provided them the ability to use fees paid into the states licensing board to enhance and promote their own tax operations.  The Omnibus Appropriations Act now provides an unlimited amount of funding to these groups and the desire to gain access to millions in federal funding often times leads those who initiated with good intentions to become greedy and controlling.  In this case, the group went so far as to misrepresent their own facts and findings from an internal  investigation attempt.  Posing as taxpaying citizens, using fake social security information they went to different tax offices in the state and without filing the actual tax return they paid for printed copies that were not completed.  They then used a former political contributor and close friend as a CPA who supposedly completed the same return and later claimed that all of the other returns printed were inaccurate.  When confronted with the facts of their fraudulent fake investigation they quickly removed the information from their public website.  A complete review of the returns would have shown that their own CPA actually failed to complete the Stimulus Recovery Credit thus making their own return less accurate than those completed by the Tax Offices they attempted to defraud.

NITPA defeated this special interest attempt to control the industry through the passage of its "Alabama Taxpayer Protection & Assistance Act" a legislative act that was nothing more than an attempt for the group to control the industry and benefit from the fees paid in by private business owners.  Like many legislative proposals they're branded with wonderful titles and seemingly seek great public intentions however when you read through the fine print you begin to see the real story and the real intentions behind the legislation and those proposing it.

The National Independent Tax Preparers Association was founded in Alabama by a group of Independent business owners authorized by the IRS to provide E-File services in the State.  NITPA defeated the special interest's attempt to control the industry in Alabama and continues to support and defend the interest of private small business owners who operate in the E-File industry.  A special awareness meeting is planned in Birmingham, Alabama for industry professionals who operate tax offices in the State.  For more information please visit www.nitpa.com.

Alabama Tax Office Owners & Managers are holding a special Alabama Awareness Meeting on June 25^th, 2009 in Birmingham, Alabama.  The Alabama Tax Preparers Awareness Meeting is being held to discuss current and previously proposed state and national legislative interest to regulate and license the Tax Preparers.  Due to major enhancements in the 2010 VITA Grant Program there is more outside special interest now attempting to control and gain exclusive access to the Tax Refund and E-File Industry than any time in the industries history.  While the VITA enhancements were introduce to allow VITA Site operators an opportunity to enhance their own poor accuracy rates, which prior to 2007 were as low as 36%, the vast majority of them have opted to use these proceeds in concert with their attempt to enforce new legislative initiatives on the entire industry. 

The special interest groups are consistently leading negative propaganda campaigns in an effort to damage the image and business of area Tax Office Owners across the country.  In Alabama a Special Interest Group led an all out misleading media attack on the Paid Professional Authorized E-File Operators in the State in an effort to help them pass their own hand written agenda which would have given them an unprecedented amount of board exempt controls over the entire industry.  NITPA and its growing base of tax office owners and software distributors were the only organization in Alabama leading lobbying efforts to defend the industry.   Sighting that all board members should have to follow the same rules and pay the same fees they would be writing and imposing on the area tax office owners NITPA was able to successfully defend the industry and halt the "Alabama Taxpayer Protection and Assistance Act" from passing on the final day of the 2009 Legislative Session. 

The National Independent Tax Preparers Association is holding its first industry Tax Preparer Awareness Meeting to discuss industry legislative initiatives currently being proposed on a local and national level.  Tax Office owners and managers who'd like to share their insights should register online at NITPA.com to reserve their seat for the June 25^th, 2009 Birmingham, Alabama meeting.  Registration online is free, seating is limited please reserve your seating request by the 23^rd.  For additional information please visit www.nitpa.com or call 866-910-5899

Did Impact Alabama's use of Emergency Phone Systems in Alabama violate the states rules and  policies? 

According to the Alabama Chapter of the National Independent Tax Preparers Association, Alabama Impact's Special Interest attempt to influence public officials, write Legislation and facilitate it's business marketing through the states Emergency School Phone system should be a direct violation with local and national policy. 

NITPA reported that during the states 2009 Tax Season Impact Alabama, a special interest non-profit group who operates VITA Tax Preparation sites throughout the state, issued over a 100,000 personal advertising messages to parents who's children were enrolled in the Montgomery County Public School System.  State law prohibits public officials from spending public money or using public facilities for political activity.  That being the case one would have to believe that a Special Interest Group, like Impact Alabama, who was writing, lobbying and influencing Legislative Interest in Alabama would also be unable to access and use the Emergency School Phone system to promote and drive their own business and legislative agenda.

NITPA's Alabama Chapter is also considering a full federal investigation into Impact Alabama's Grant Violations during the 2009 season.  Federal Grant Restrictions prohibit VITA recipients from paying individuals to provide Volunteer services.  Impact Alabama's use of Scholarships to pay students in return for providing services rendered as Volunteer  is in question and should be a direct violation of the VITA Grant Program.  New enhancements in the VITA Grant Programs for 2010 now allow Special Interest Groups like Impact Alabama  millions in new funding.  The enhancements for 2010 lifted restrictions on the amount of money a recipient can access:

• No limitation for matching fund calculations of volunteer services.
• No limitation for matching fund calculations of space rental value.

These new "no limit, matching fund calculations" will be a haven for Special Interest Groups.  There's now little or no doubt these modifications drove the interest behind Impact Alabama's attempt to pass their own hand written Senate Bill 201 entitled The Alabama Taxpayer Protection & Assistance Act which NITPA exposed and defeated in the Alabama Legislature on May 14th, 2009.  Impact attempted to pass a new law which would have allowed them the ability to write and enforce new taxes, fees, restrictions and sanctions on the private businesses who offer Professional Tax Preparation Services within the IRS's ERO Program.  Electronic Return Originators are authorized and certified by the IRS to provide Electronic Tax Preparation Services.  IRS authorized ERO Tax Offices help states like Alabama facilitate the distribution of nearly $1.3 billion dollars in Earned Income Tax Credits.  EITC is one of the nations largest and most successful anti-poverty programs for families with low & moderate income levels.  The success of this program since it's inception in 1975 lies largely with the participation of the 200,000 conveniently located neighborhood Tax Offices authorized by the IRS. 

Outside Special interest groups like Impact Alabama have sought to grow their VITA business model by attacking those businesses who make their living as an authorized IRS ERO.  Special interest groups seeking millions in new federal funding are on a national crusade to damage the image and business of Tax Offices throughout the U.S. by promoting and publishing the same misrepresented information over and over and over throughout the country.  VITA site operates fail to mention their own statistics which the GOA reports VITA Sites offer some of the worst statistics when it comes to accuracy.  Reports by the Government found that VITA sites were only 36% correct two years ago however had a drastic improvement recently when they exceeded 50% for the first time in history.  One of the problems with VITA sites is they use first time tax preparers who only have 6 hours of education to go along with no prior industry experience.  As VITA site recipients continue to attempt to control the industry more and more Tax Office owners are joining with NITPA the nations newest Independent Tax Preparer Association and the only association fighting for the ERO's across the industry.