Today’sbuddy is Jason Dinesen, EA, of Dinesen Tax, Inc. in Indianola, Iowa, author ofthe DINESEN TAX TIMES.
Jasonis a vocal defender of the EA designation, as I am a vocal defender of thepreviously unenrolled. We recentlydebated the issue of exempting CPAs and attorneys from the RTRP exam, which hetouches on below, at his blog and my TAX PROFESSIONAL blog (click here andhere). As with Joe Kristan, when Jasonand I disagree we do so respectfully (unlike at least one fellow blogger whom Iwill not name).
Iespecially like the “disclaimer” he includes on his blog page –
“Before contacting me with questions abouthow a blog post relates to your situation, please be aware that I cannot and donot give free tax advice to non-clients by e-mail or by phone.”
Thisstatement, I expect, applies to all tax bloggers. It certainly applies to me.
How did you becomeinterested/involved in preparing tax returns?
Thiswill be a really long answer!
Ihave always been a “numbers geek.” In 5th grade, my teacher told my parentsthat I would grow up to be a statistician. She was right (taxes are statisticsof sorts) - but it took me awhile to figure it out for myself.
From7th grade til about age 23 or 24, I wanted to be a sports play-by-playannouncer. I went to college for communications (though I did minor in businessmanagement) and then went into radio as a news director. After a couple ofyears, I realized I should have taken the advice of my 5th grade teacher andgotten into numbers.
Afterreaching this realization, I still lingered in the radio world for a few moreyears before finally getting out at age 28. I went back to school foraccounting, where I realized that taxes were my true love. For whatever reason,my mind “gets” the tax code and regulations.
Ifound employment at a third-party administrator of retirement plans, where Idid all sorts of things relating to compliance issues of 401(k) and definedbenefit plans. I eventually worked my way up to a position where I was incharge of all IRS filings related to plan terminations.
TheTPA work was fascinating, but taxes were my true love. I prepared 3 taxreturns, for family and friends, in 2009, and realized it was what I wanted todo with my life. I passed all 3 parts of the Special Enrollment Exam later in2009 and got my enrolled agent designation.
ByAugust 2011 I had built up enough clients to leave the TPA world and run mybusiness full-time.
How were you educated/trained inpreparing tax returns?
Variousways.
Collegecoursework was where the light bulb switched on. Preparing for the EA examshelped a lot. Taking in-depth continuing education (not just settling foryear-end updates). A lot of learning on the job -- but never at the expense ofthe client. Meaning, I have always been careful not to take on something I amnot capable of handling. And I maintain an active list of contacts andprofessional friends that I can turn to when I have questions.
When and why did you decide to writea blog on tax issues?
TheDinesen Tax Times started in 2009 as a printed newsletter for clients (all 3 ofthem!). Around that same time, I created a horrible, just awful, free Googlewebsite. In 2010, I started a blog, and last fall I got a “real” website andintegrated the blog into the website.
Ihave always been a creative thinker, and the blog is a good outlet for me.Long-time readers of my blog know that my blog can be a strange place, where Ioften mix in baseball references, references to my family and pets, etc. in myposts about taxes. I use a lot of personal anecdotes, and I use a lot ofparenthetical references and as you can tell from my responses to thisquestionnaire, I tend to take a lot of side roads on the way to reaching myultimate point.
How has blogging helped yourbusiness?
I’vegotten a few clients from having a web presence, but the biggest way blogginghas helped my business is with the connections I have made with otherprofessionals. It’s impossible to place a value on those connections.
What do you consider the “best taxadvice” you can give anyone?
Contraryto what H&R Block and TurboTax want you to believe, it’s not all aboutgetting a massive refund. Contrary to what H&R Block and TurboTax want youto believe, there are no tax miracles. Your preparer can’t magically conjure upextra deductions or credits to get you a bigger refund. (Well, I guess theyCAN, but good luck to you and the preparer when the scheme blows up, which itinevitably will.)
Do you think the regulation of taxreturn preparers is a good thing?
Yesand no. As you know, I am highly skeptical of the whole RTRP thing. I do thinkthere needs to be oversight, though. The Jason Dinesen proposal is: monitorpeople’s PTINs. Because we all have to have PTINs now, the IRS has a mechanismto track who is preparing tax returns. If a preparer is incompetent or preparesfraudulent tax returns, the IRS can revoke the preparer’s PTIN. That’s how Iwould handle preparer regulation.
Do you think CPAs and attorneysshould be exempt from testing and required CPEs in taxation?
Yes,from testing. CPAs and attorneys already have to pass difficult andcomprehensive exams. Granted, those exams aren’t tax-related. But it’sinsulting to tell them they need to take a basic, open-book exam RTRP exam justso they can prepare tax returns.
However,I do think CPAs and attorneys should be required to demonstrate taxation CPE ifthey want to prepare tax returns.
Do you think experienced taxpreparers should be exempt from the initial RTRP competency test under “grandfathering”?
Yes,I am open to that as long as there can be clear and consistent standards put inplace.
How would you reform/rewrite the TaxCode?
Goodquestion. I don’t think we’ll ever see true tax simplification, like a flat taxor a nationwide sales tax. But we could have a tax system that includes a hugestandard deduction and/or personal exemption amount that would make it solower-income people wouldn’t even have to mess with filing a tax return. That’show it was back in 1913 when the income tax first came about. The personalexemption amount was equal to nearly $68,000 in modern-day dollars, so the vastmajority of Americans weren’t even impacted by taxes. Of course, this wouldmean eliminating things like the earned income credit and such, which probablywouldn’t go over well.
What is your favorite Broadwaymusical – and why?
I’venever seen a Broadway musical. I did see a performance of “On Golden Pond” atthe somewhat-famous Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock, North Carolina one time,if that counts for anything!
TTFN
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