SANDRA L. PAYNE, CPA, P.A.
4217 W SAN RAFAEL STREET
TAMPA, FL 33629
(813) 286-8213
2007 CORPORATE TAX RETURN ENGAGEMENT LETTER
Dear Client,
We are pleased to
confirm and specify the terms of our engagement with you and to clarify the
nature and extent of the services we will provide regarding the preparation of
your income tax return(s).
We will prepare your
2007 corporate federal income tax return, state corporate tax return and local
tangible property tax return where applicable.
This engagement pertains only to the 2007 tax year, and our responsibilities
do not include preparation of any other tax return years that may be due to any
taxing authority. We are responsible
for preparing only the returns referenced above. If you have taxable activity in a state or local municipality
other than that referenced, you are responsible for providing our firm with all
the information necessary to prepare any additional applicable state and local
income tax returns as well as informing us of the applicable states and local
municipalities. If you have income tax
filing requirements in a given state or local municipality but do not file that
return, there could be possible adverse ramifications such as an unlimited
statute of limitations, penalties, etc.
The law provides
various penalties that may be imposed when taxpayers understate their tax
liability. You acknowledge that any
such understated tax, and any imposed interest and penalty thereon, are your
responsibility, and that we have no responsibility in that regard. If you would like information on the amount
or the circumstances of these interest and penalties, please contact us. Your returns may be selected for review by
the taxing authorities or you may receive a notice requesting a response to
certain issues on your tax return. Any
proposed adjustments by the examining agent are subject to certain rights of
appeal. In the event of such government
tax examination or inquiry, we will be available upon request to represent you
or respond to such inquiry. At that
time, we will provide you a subsequent engagement letter to clarify the nature
and extent of services we will provide regarding the tax examination or inquiry
response and will render additional invoices for these services and expenses
incurred.
We will prepare the
returns from information, which you will furnish to us. It is your responsibility to provide all the
information required for the preparation of complete and accurate returns. If applicable, we have included a checklist
from the prior year to aid you in the collection of data.
The timeliness of
your cooperation is essential to our ability to complete this engagement. Specifically, we must receive sufficient
information from which to prepare your returns within a reasonable period of
time prior to the applicable filing deadline.
Accordingly, if we do not receive this information from you, as noted
above, by February 25, 2008,
it may be necessary for us to pursue extensions of the due date of your
returns. Various penalties and interest
are imposed when taxpayers fail to pay the full amount of taxes owed by the
filing due date. Furthermore,
additional penalties and interest are imposed when taxpayers fail to remit the
proper amount of subsequent year tax estimates. Based on information you have provided to us, we can assist you
in determining the correct amount of taxes owed for the current year and
subsequent year tax estimates. You
acknowledge that any such penalties and interest that arise due to the
underestimation of current year taxes owed or subsequent year tax estimates
remitted are your responsibility, and that we have no responsibility in that
regard. If you would like information
on the amounts or the circumstances of these penalties and interest, please
contact us.
We will not audit or
otherwise verify the data you submit.
Accordingly, our engagement cannot be relied upon to disclose errors,
fraud, or other illegal acts that may exist.
However, it may be necessary to ask you for clarification of some of the
information you provide, and we will inform you of any material errors, fraud
or other illegal acts that come to our attention.
You are responsible for maintaining an adequate and efficient accounting
system, for safeguarding
assets, for authorizing transactions, and for retaining supporting
documentation for those transactions, all of which will, among other things, help assure the preparation of proper
returns. Furthermore, you are
responsible to review all of the information presented on your tax return for
correctness.
We may encounter
instances where the tax law is unclear, or where there may be conflicts between
the taxing authorities' interpretations of the law and other supportable
positions. In those instances, we will
outline in a written communication each of the reasonable alternative courses
of action, including the risks and consequences of each such alternative. In
the end, we will adopt, on your behalf the alternative, which you select after
having considered the information provided by us. Pursuant to new standards prescribed in IRS Circular 230 and IRC
6694, we are forbidden from signing a tax return unless we have a reasonable
belief that a tax position taken on the return will have a more likely than not
probability of being sustained on its merits unless we disclose this tax
position on a separate attachment to the tax return. However, under no circumstances may we sign a tax return with a
tax position that has no reasonable basis.
Our fees for this
engagement are not contingent on the results of our service. Rather, our fees for this engagement will be
based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the time spent as
well as the complexity of the services we will perform. In addition, you agree to reimburse us for
any out of pocket costs incurred in connection with the performance of our
services.
Our fees and costs
will be billed and are due when the return is complete unless other prior
arrangements are made. Invoices unpaid
past the due date may be deemed delinquent, and are subject to an interest
charge of 1% per month. We reserve the right
to suspend our services or to withdraw from this engagement in the event that
any of our invoices are deemed delinquent.
In the event that any collection action is required to collect unpaid
balances due us, you agree to reimburse us for the costs of collection
including attorneys' fees.
You should retain
all the documents, canceled checks and other data that form the basis of income
and deductions. These may be necessary
to prove the accuracy and completeness of the returns to a taxing authority. You have the final responsibility for the
income tax returns and, therefore, you should review them carefully before you
sign them.
It is our policy to
retain engagement documentation for a period of seven years, after which time
we will commence the process of destroying the contents of our engagement
files. To the extent we accumulate any
of your original records during the engagement, those documents will be
returned to you promptly upon completion of the engagement.
In the event we are required to respond to a subpoena, court
order or other legal process for the production of documents and/or testimony
relative to information we obtained and/or prepared during the course of this
engagement, you agree to compensate us, as set forth above, for the time we
expend in connection with such response at our normal consulting rate of
$80/hour, and to reimburse us for all of our out of pocket costs incurred in
that regard.
In the event that we become obligated to pay any judgment or similar award, you agree to pay any amount in settlement, and any costs incurred as a result of any inaccurate or incomplete information that you provided to us during the course of this engagement. You agree to indemnify us, defend us, and hold us harmless against such obligations, agreements, and/or costs.
You agree that any
dispute that may arise regarding the meaning, performance or enforcement of
this engagement will, prior to resorting to litigation, be submitted to
mediation, and that you will engage in the mediation process in good faith once
a written request to mediate has been given by either party to the
engagement. A law firm specializing in
the mediation process, not associated with either party, and selected by us,
according to its mediation rules, shall administer any mediation initiated as a
result of this engagement. Any ensuing
litigation shall be conducted within the County of Hillsborough, Florida,
according to Florida law. The results
of any such mediation shall be binding only upon agreement of each party to be
bound. The participating parties shall
share the costs of any mediation proceeding equally.
Any litigation arising out of this engagement, except actions by us to enforce payment of our professional invoices, must be filed within one year from the completion of the engagement, notwithstanding any statutory provision to the contrary. In the event of litigation brought against us, any judgment you obtain shall be limited in amount, and shall not exceed the amount of the fee charged by us, and paid by you, for the services set forth in this engagement letter.
This engagement letter is contractual in nature, and includes all of the relevant terms that will govern the engagement for which it has been prepared. The terms of this letter supersede any prior oral or written representations or commitments by or between the parties. Any material changes or additions to the terms set forth in this letter will only become effective if evidenced by a written amendment to this letter, signed by all of the parties.
If, after full
consideration and consultation with counsel if so desired, you agree to
authorize us to prepare your personal income tax returns pursuant to the terms
set forth above, please execute this letter on the line(s) below designated for
your signature(s), and return the this executed letter to this office along
with your official tax documents so that preparation of your return can
begin. You should keep a copy of this
fully executed letter for your records.
Thank you for your
attention in this matter, and please contact us with any questions that you may
have.
Sincerely,
Sandy L. Payne, CPA
ACCEPTED AND AGREED:
__________________________________________ ___________________
Corporate Officer Signature Date
__________________________________________
Corporate Officer Printed
Name
_______________________________________________________________________
Name of Corporation