Success: legislative victories for CalCPA and the profession.

• Author: Allen, Bruce C.
• Position: Capitol Beat

Octobcr saw CalCPA experience two major legislative successes as Gov. Brown singed two important pieces of legislation that will grealty benefit CalAPA members, CPA candidates and California taxpayers.

150-Hour Transition

The first bill. SB 823, sponsored by the California Board of Accountancy and supported by CalCPA, will ease the transition of the new 150-hour education requirements for CPA licensure. As an urgency measure, SB 823 took effect immediately upon being signed into law.

The bill's passage serves as a tremendous support for CPA candidates who will have passed all parts of the Uniform CPA Exam by the end of 2013, but will be just shy of meeting all the other elements necessary for CPA licensure--such as the ethics exam, application, fingerprints, experience requirement or any unfinished units.

The legislative change from SB 823 will grant these individuals a two-year grace period to wrap up any additional licensure requirements they may nerd ail allow them to become licensed under the current licensure requirements, which expire at the end of 2013.

After the two-year grace period, candidates have to satisfy the new licensure candidates have to satisfy the new licensure requirements that take effect Jan. 1, 2014.

Going forward, SB 823 also will allow students enrolled in a five-year, combined master's (or certificate)/bachelor's program to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam prior to official receipt of the bachelor's degree--as long as they have completed all the necessary requirements for the degree and the school is able to certify the student's status.

Addressing Retroactive Taxation Resulting from Cutler Decision

The second bill, AB 1412. serves as an important solution to correct an unfair retroactive tax change by reinstating the long-standing Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusion.

The QSBS was eliminated as part of the (Cutler v. Franchise Tax Board court decision, which resulted in large tax liabilities--some going as far back as five years--for many California entrepreneurs who reasonably relied on the law at the time they filed their tax return. This legislative solution gives Californians peace of mind that reliance on our tax code is the rule, not the exception.

CPA's with clients affected by this issue can visit the FTB's website for guidance on next steps: www.ftb.ca.gov.

Achieving these legislative successes was a tram effort. These results were made possible with the many CalCPA members who wrote a die...