IRS Crackdown on Credit Counseling Industry
Contacts:
Brad Stroh, Bills.com, 650-393-6210, brad@bills.com
Aimee Bennett, Fagan Business Communications, 303-843-9840, aimee@faganbusinesscommunications.com
Bills.com Experts Available to Discuss IRS Crackdown on Credit Counseling Industry
-- Growing investigation eliminates 40 percent of industry --
San Mateo, Calif. – In May, the Internal Revenue Service announced it would revoke the tax-exempt status of every one of the 41 credit-counseling agencies on which it completed an audit during a three-year-old crackdown on the credit-counseling industry, the Associated Press and other news outlets reported. The IRS stated that these 41 organizations represent 40 percent of the credit-counseling industry’s annual $1 billion in revenue.
The move has long been predicted by Bradford G. Stroh, Founder of Bills.com, who is available to comment on the IRS’s actions and discuss the resulting challenges facing Americans.
“This crackdown has far-reaching implications for Americans with debt problems. The non-profit credit counseling industry has grown into a huge business, and with last year’s bankruptcy reform laws requiring that consumers obtain debt counseling services prior to filing for bankruptcy relief, this could be a complicated time for consumers struggling with their finances,” Stroh explained. “With fewer credit counseling agencies available, fewer alternatives to bankruptcy remain. Those that do will become more critical for the consumer and business owner.”
Stroh can discuss:
- How the crackdown will affect consumers and small businesses.
- The bankruptcy reform legislations, especially given the recent lawsuit filed by the Connecticut Bar As¬sociation challenging provisions of the law that went into effect in October 2005.
- Other alternatives to bankruptcy, including creditor negotiation and debt resolution.
Stroh, and the Bills.com team, have developed a 16-page guide titled “Debt Freedom: Budgeting & Financial Tools for Today’s Consumer.” The guide provides advice on understanding cash flow and debt, defining a budget/spending plan, and setting goals to attain financial freedom. The guide is available electronically, at no charge, by e-mailing guide@bills.com.
Based in San Mateo, Calif., Bills.com is a free one-stop online portal where consumers can educate themselves about complex personal finance issues and save money by choosing the best-value products from a network of qualified service providers. Since 2002, Bills.com’s partner company, Freedom Financial Network, has provided consumer debt resolu¬tion ser¬vices, serving more than 7,500 customers nationwide and managing more than $250 million in consumer debt. The company’s co-foun¬ders and CEOs, Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh, were recently named Northern California finalists in Ernst & Young’s 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
