FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Al Rickard
703-402-9713

NSA Urges Senate to Ban
Tax Strategy Patents

Alexandria, VA, September 13, 2007 — The National Society of Accountants (NSA) praised the U.S. House of Representatives for passing H.R. 1980, the Patent Reform Act of 2007, which includes a section that would prohibit patents on tax strategies, which are allowed under current law, and urged the Senate to act promptly on this matter as well.
In a committee report on the bill, the House explained, “Tax strategy patents remove from the public domain particular ways to satisfy a taxpayer's legal obligations. Those methods cannot be practiced by the taxpayer without permission of the patent holder. This will have adverse consequences for both the tax payers and tax advisers who may face patent infringement suits for using patented tax strategies. This undermines public confidence in law and uniformity in tax policies.”

The committee report also cautioned that allowing patents “is also likely to increase public dissatisfaction with tax laws if compliance must be accompanied by patent searches and licensing,” a point that was reinforced by NSA President Andrew Morehead, CFP, ATP, ECS.

“Conducting patent searches every time we advise clients on tax matters is neither reasonable nor practical,” Morehead declared. “The tax code is complicated enough without requiring this extra layer of work and expense.” Morehead added that all taxpayers should be able to reduce their taxes in ways allowed by the law without worrying whether an otherwise legal deduction is in violation of a patent.

The House committee report noted that 60 tax strategy patents currently exist, and 89 applications for patents are pending. Morehead urged the U.S. Senate to act promptly on this issue so that neither taxpayers nor tax preparers must contend with such patents during the next tax return filing season.

For more information about NSA and this issue, visit

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NSA and its affiliates represent 30,000 members who provide accounting, auditing, tax preparation, financial and estate planning, and management services to approximately 19 million individuals and business clients. Most members are sole practitioners or partners in small- to medium- size accounting firms. NSA protects the public by requiring its members to adhere to a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit
Al Rickard, CAE
President
Association Vision
4501 Hazelnut Court
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-402-9713