Smart Tax highlighted in the Queens Ledger

Smart Tax was featured in a Queens Ledger article entitled, “Dude, Where’s my Tax Refund?” The article discusses the recent dilemma where the Postal Service sent $2 million worth of undelivered tax refunds for 1,231 Queens residents back to the Internal Revenue Service due to mailing address errors. Read below for a portion of the story of check out the full article here.

Dude, where's my tax refund?

Queens residents waiting for their tax refunds have their own mailing addresses to blame.

The Postal Service sent $2 million worth of undelivered tax refunds for 1,231 Queens residents back to the Internal Revenue Service due to mailing address errors.

The checks went to people who have not updated their addressees, said IRS spokesperson Dianne Besunder, adding that the federal government is eager to return the money.

“We want [them] to get this money as soon as possible,” she said.

This year the average refund for New York State taxpayers was $2,471, up from $1,581 last year.

The Queens residents still waiting for their checks are owed on average $1,624.

“People are coming in and saying I didn't get my check,” said Nick Rizzi, the owner of Smart Tax, a tax preparation service with 30 locations- including four in Queens- that serves approximately 30,000 clients each tax season. (Read More)

New IRS Laws Spike Independent Conversions to Larger Systems

If you are in the tax preparation industry, there are many new laws implemented by the IRS this year, which will affect the way you do business. Starting mid-September, the IRS will be implementing stricter laws on tax preparers across the country which will include continuing education requirements on preparers, passing a series of tests to renew licenses through the IRS. These laws are being implemented to increase the qualification of preparers across the country. Included in these new laws is a mandatory registration for independent tax preparers where all paid tax preparers must register for a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) which is set to begin mid-month. This is one more law to further monitor the industry and increase the quality of service.

Resulting from the newly founded laws, a trend is emerging in the tax preparation field. Many independent preparers are converting to larger tax preparation firms, with systems already in place to help support new laws and initiatives. Independents recognize that larger, established systems will provide the services, bank relationships, and handle mandatory deadlines for the entire system to ensure that the business as a whole is prepared for these changes.

With 80% of Americans using a tax preparation service and with new, stricter IRS regulations, the tax industry as a whole will need to adapt and many small tax preparers unable to make these required changes will be eliminated in result.

With all of these new boundaries in place for tax season 2011, the tax preparation industry needs to be more organized than ever before. Smart Tax franchise has transitioned to prepare themselves for the upcoming tax season and welcomes independents into its system; offering preparers who file over 250 files per year a free conversion into a Smart Tax franchise.

For more questions, please refer to the IRS Laws online at: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=217781,00.html\

Smart Tax Featured in New Mexico Business Weekly

Smart Tax was recently featured in an article in the New Mexico Business Weekly entitled, “IRS Aims to Squelch Tax Prep Incompetence.” The article was built from an in-depth interview with Nick Rizzi and delves into the trend emerging where the IRS is becoming stricter in enforcing rules and regulations on tax preparers and also discusses Smart Tax’s growth plans throughout New Mexico. A portion of the story is shared below, and you can view the full article here.

IRS aims to squelch tax prep incompetence
by Dennis Domrzalski

As the Internal Revenue Service prepares to crack down on tax preparers, some see it as an effort to drive small practitioners out of business.

But others, like Nick Rizzi, CEO of Smart Tax, see it as an opportunity. Rizzi’s franchise company says it plans to open 15 offices in the Albuquerque area by the 2012 tax season.

“Everybody needs to do taxes, and we have found it to be a good business to be in,” says Rizzi from his New York City office. “Albuquerque is a prime hub for expansion and development because the market is largely underserved."

With 80 percent of Americans using a tax preparation service and with new, stricter IRS regulations, the tax industry as a whole will need to adapt, and many small tax preparers in the Albuquerque market will be eliminated. (Read More)