Bulletin board expands help for tax pros

By William Donald Schaefer
Comptroller of Maryland

In the Comptroller's Office, we appreciate what tax practitioners — especially certified public accountants — do to make the income tax filing season successful, as well as to insure a smooth tax operation all year long. Communication is the key to our relationship, and we have worked to improve our communication with tax professionals in several ways, including a "bulletin board" on our Web site especially for tax pros.

This feature is designed to help tax pros keep up with the latest tax processing news and developments; submit suggestions, comments and questions; and share information with other tax professionals. The conferencing system news for tax pros will list approved software vendors, notify preparers of any processing problems or recurring taxpayer errors, and keep tax pros current with anything else that might impact them.

The subscribe to the tax pros bulletin board, visit the Comptroller's Web site at www.marylandtaxes.com, go to the section for tax pros and select the tax pros bulletin board.

Special e-mail, phone for tax professionals

We also have a dedicated e-mail address and telephone hotline for use by tax professionals and accountants. You can e-mail taxprohelp@comp.state.md.us to check on clients' accounts, verify estimated payments and ask questions about a variety of tax types, including personal and business income taxes and sales and use taxes.

Tax preparers e-mailing questions about a particular individual or business client's account should include the client's name, Social Security number and address. Our tax experts will respond by the next business day.

The tax preparers' telephone hotline will continue to provide special service to tax professionals Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Just call (410) 260-7424 or toll-free at (800) MD TAXES and ask for the Tax Practitioners Hotline.

Both of these services are staffed by experts who specialize in helping tax professionals.

Speakers Bureau offers experts on a variety of topics

As comptroller, I want to see our office reach out more to the professional and business community to share our resources and our expertise. To help reach that goal, our Speakers Bureau has expanded to offer more services to professional, business or community associations and other interested groups. The bureau taps professional resources within the agency to provide experts on all of the taxes collected by the Comptroller's Office. The topics listed below are the most requested, but our speakers are happy to tailor their presentations to meet your organization's needs and interests:

personal and corporation income tax;
sales and use tax involving out-of-state purchases, food, contractors and more;
admissions and amusement tax;
Maryland estate tax;
motor carrier and motor fuel taxes;
unclaimed property.

For more information or to request a speaker, contact Marge Kirk at mkirk@comp.state.md.us or at (410) 260-7159.

I welcome your suggestions

My office and your organization share a common goal — providing the best possible service to our customers. I welcome your suggestions on how we can work together to better serve the people of Maryland, and I invite you to e-mail us at schaeferservice@comp.state.md.us with your suggestions.

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