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Insight into the upcoming midterm elections
Written on Oct 21, 2022
By Jessica Salerno-Shumaker, OSCPA senior content manager
As the country gears up for the midterm election on Nov. 8, Mark Peterson, AICPA executive vice president of advocacy, offered insight into what voters could anticipate in a few short weeks.
“The polls are what the polls are,” Peterson said. “They do give you some directions and at least give you something to focus on.”
He joined OSCPA president & CEO Scott Wiley, CAE, at the OSCPA Town Hall on Oct. 20 to discuss issues impacting the profession in the upcoming midterms and insight into possible election results. During the discussion, Wiley pointed out that state elections have become nationalized when it’s not only the citizens of that state watching the results but the rest of the country.
“Lots of games are being played,” Peterson said. “During lame duck sessions you've got people that retired that are voting, you got people that lost their primary or lost their general election. And then you've got new leaders who are trying to figure out what's best for them at the beginning of next year and how to get stuff done.”
Peterson mentioned that the IRS will continue to be an issue for voters. He said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has spoken about repealing the $80 billion the IRS received from the Inflation Reduction Act should the Republicans gain the majority of the House. Peterson said this activity could be an opportunity for the profession to have a guiding influence.
“We already have been asked to contribute recommendations for modernization ideas at the IRS,” Peterson said. “The IRS is a great partner. We have a voluntary system where we must work with them. We want them to function. Yes, we must have our voice heard and stick up for the profession if we don't think the IRS is doing something correctly. But we do need them to function. And there's going to be an opportunity for us to have a voice related to service.”
In response to some questions in the chat during the Town Hall, Wiley spoke of the recent CPA Preferred lists, and the value of OSCPA working with candidates to pass issues that impact the profession and our members.
“This profession is agile, and it is transformative. It is demonstrating how it can adapt and thrive for the futures it has faced in the past,” Wiley said. “CPAs we've got work to do to make our state better, to help businesses that we serve, to create opportunity here in Ohio and to reverse the tide of people leaving our state. And for that to happen, Ohio's most trusted business advisors have different ideas and different opinions and different backgrounds have to engage. You should expect nothing less from this organization.”