Home » Uncategorized » Iola Tax Place to hold open house

Iola Tax Place to hold open house

Iola Tax Place, located at 105 Pine Crest Lane in Iola, will host a grand opening open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29.

Mary Olson, who operates the business, relocated to Iola after her husband, Steve, retired from his job with the city of Appleton.

“I was still commuting to Appleton for my job with the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP),” she said. “On the first bad snow day I decided it just was not worth it. So last December I quit my job and started working from home as a Turbo Tax Advisor, for Intuit.”

Through her work at Turbo Tax, Mary met Lisa Najim, of Sure Business Solutions Inc., out of New Jersey.

Najim encouraged Olson to start her own business.

“Money was the only thing keeping me from doing this,” said Olson.

Najim helped make this happen, taking on Olson as an employee of her corporation.

The Iola Tax Place is a division of Sure Business Solutions.

“Mary is nationally known in our profession and when we found out that she had left her previous employer, we could not wait to bring her on board,” Najim said. “Her skills and experience are a fabulous addition to our company. Once we learned more about the Iola-Scandinavia area, it was a natural progression to open this office to serve the people and businesses in the area. We are very excited to be part if this community.”

Lisa visited Iola in August to make business arrangements and to assist in getting the office set up.

Reflecting on her visit, Najim said, “I can’t say how much I enjoyed the time I spent in the Iola-Scandinavia area. The energy, volunteer spirit and dedication to the continued growth and success of the area were beyond remarkable. We at The Iola Tax Place and Sure Business Solutions Inc. want to be a viable part of this community.”

Services offered by The Iola Tax Place will include preparation of tax returns for individuals, small businesses, corporations, partnerships, trusts, exempt organizations and estates.

In addition, IRS representation and assistance is available for any federal or state tax audit, delinquent taxes owed, non-filed returns or simply responding to a notice.

Current IRS regulations state that in order to be a licensed tax professional, the individual must be an attorney, CPA, enrolled agent, or pass the new Registered Tax Return Preparer Minimal Competency Test.

The test must be completed by December 2013 in order to prepare tax returns, unless supervised by an attorney, CPA or enrolled agent.

Even with this supervision, one of the previous three people must sign tax returns.

An enrolled agent is a person who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service by either passing a three-part comprehensive IRS test covering individual and business tax returns, or through experience as a former IRS employee.

Enrolled agent status is the highest credential the IRS awards.

Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to ethical standards and complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years.

Enrolled agents, like attorneys and certified public accountants (CPAs), have unlimited practice rights.

This means they are unrestricted as to which taxpayers they can represent, what types of tax matters they can handle, and which IRS offices they can represent clients before.

Olson, an Enrolled Agent, has over 30 years of tax experience, including 11 years with the IRS in Indianapolis and 11 years with NATP in Appleton.

In addition, Olson is a member of the Iola-Scandinavia Chamber of Commerce, Iola Lioness, Iola Historical Society, Hitterdahl Cemetery Association, National Association of Tax Professionals and treasurer of the Thunderbird Booster Club.

Scroll to Top