FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 Contact:  Shari Goldstein   631-595-7150   shari@goldsteinPR.com                                  
Holly Coscetta  516-333-8282   execdir@63.134.211.24

NCCPAP Congressional Agenda Item Gets Legislation Started: 

  McCarthy Introduces Bill with NCCPAP’s Help

MINEOLA, NY – Sept 27 -  The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP™) is pleased to announce that an agenda item from the group’s Spring 2005 Washington meeting has led to the creation of proposed legislation from Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (NY) that will soon be presented before the House Ways and Means committee. McCarthy’s senior aides contacted NCCPAP’s Todd Newman, CPA, Chair of the Tax Committee and Vice Chair Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, of Fishman Associates, following meetings with top aides in May  2005 and asked Newman and Fishman to help draft the bill. 

Now on the record as H.R. 3803, the proposed legislation would allow certain surviving spouses to exclude up to $500,000 of gain from the sale of a principal residence if it is sold no later than the end of the calendar year following the year of death of a spouse.  Under the current law, a surviving spouse has until the end of the calendar year in which their spouse dies to take advantage of this exclusion, but loses it once that year has ended.  The current exclusion is $250,000 for a single, divorced, or widowed individual, while a married couple is eligible for a $500,000 exclusion.  NCCPAP’s position, as stated in its 2005 Congressional Agenda, is that this punishes a widowed homeowner, especially if their spouse dies towards the end of the year.

“We would prefer that this exclusion be raised to $500,000 for a longer period of time, especially where the spouse dies at the end of the year, but this is a significant improvement over the current provision.  If the bill is adopted into law, this will give a financial relief to more surviving spouses on the sale of a principal residence,” said Carol Markman, CPA President of NCCPAP and a partner at Syosset, NY based Feldman, Meinberg & Co. LLP.

For a copy of the bill and information on its current status, visit thomas.loc.gov and enter 3803.   For a copy of NCCPAP’s Congressional Agenda, visit www.63.134.211.24  or call 888-488- 5400.

The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) is an association of CPA firms in public practice committed to quality and integrity for the profession. Established in 1979, NCCPAP is the only national organization representing only CPA practitioners. Members work actively with Congress, the IRS, state legislatures and taxing authorities to develop and define tax policy and legislation.  For more information, visit the website at www.63.134.211.24.

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