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I think they are stirring up a big kettle of confusion. I am glad that I was able to conform and have it behind me. CE has always been a voluntary part of my tax prep. The test didn't hurt me one bit and am glad to have it over as we have enough things to worry about right now with the ATRA and the delay of filing as well as the issues with the tax program (s). No matter what the courts decide, I won't be crying over spilt milk. Any and all knowledge that I gleaned from studying for and taking the test is only to my benefit and for the good of my clients. Those are my major concerns.

The ban on plastic grocery bags enacted in San Francisco and other California communities has an unexpected side effect — an increase in food-borne illnesses, emergency room visits, and even deaths. The culprit: the reusable grocery bags that shoppers use instead, which are breeding grounds for E. coli and other harmful bacteria. San Francisco County enacted a ban on non-compostable plastic bags at large grocery stores and drug stores in 2007, and extended it to all retail establishments in early 2012. Los Angeles followed suit in 2012, as did several other California communities including Malibu and Palo Alto. The bans were designed to reduce litter and threats to marine life posed by discarded bags, and encourage the use of reusable grocery bags. But studies “suggest that reusable grocery bags harbor harmful bacteria, the most important of which is E. coli,” say Jonathan Klick, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania, and Joshua D. Wright, a professor at the George Mason University School of Law and Department of Economics. “If individuals fail to clean their reusable bags, these bacteria may lead to contamination of the food transported in the bags. Such contamination has the potential to lead to health problems and even death.” Tests of randomly selected reusable grocery bags found coliform bacteria in 51 percent of them, and E. coli in 8 percent. When the researchers analyzed data related to E. coli infections, the results were troubling: “The San Francisco County ban is associated with a statistically significant and particularly large increase in ER visits for E. coli infections,” they said — a rise of at least 25 percent. In addition, “the San Francisco County ban is associated with a 46 percent increase in deaths from food-borne illnesses.” Their conclusion: “We find that both deaths and ER visits spiked as soon as the ban went into effect. “Conservative estimates of the costs and benefits of the San Francisco plastic bag ban suggest the health risks they impose are not likely offset by environmental benefits.”

They used to give them as handouts a Tax Insight classes. This year hardly anything. We used to leave with a plastic bag of goodies. What I REALLY miss are the e-file sheets of stickers. I liked to put one on the cover of the client copy of the return. It was just a nice touch.

Crank, I did not get any type of flyer with the original CD. I agree with some of the communication problems and yes, information from TRX regarding status and update changes would be outstanding to have. At the risk of taking some abuse here, I personally would like to see TRX focus on the problems with the software and not worry about creating a members board. I agree, it would be a great tool but right now, get the software working right.This is just my opinion.

I am just saying that if you want to prevent fraudulent preparers from accessing the IRS e-file portal, make all software that can access the portal required to be registered as either a professional (PTIN required) or an individual (SS# required, no duplicates, only one submission from that license of the software). It would not cost much to implement, and the Turbo Taxes of the world should love the idea that their software cannot be pirated. Besides, I come from California, where every person is guilty of purchasing items on the internet and not paying sales tax according to the FTB. I have been conditioned to "know" that all my clients are trying to steal EIC from the government because the IRS tells me so. So why would I not assume that the majority of underground preparer returns are not coming from a penciled in copy of the forms (remember package X that we had to have to start the tax season?). Face it, the software and the access to the fast lane (e-file) for refunds is what is fueling the fraud at the low end of the taxable income spectrum. It is only one of many places where "liberties" are being taken with the tax code. But if Congress really wanted to end this social welfare cheating scandal, they could in a heartbeat. Tom Hollister, CA

Congress could require the registration of all purchases, including SS#, of all self prep software before activating the software. Tom Hollister, CA