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The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) received the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) Power of A Silver Award for assisting with the passage of the New Jersey Pass-through Business Alternative Income Tax (BAIT) Act in 2020. The Award honors those associations that have made extraordinary contributions and efforts to enrich lives, create a more competitive workforce, drive innovation and make a better world. NJCPA past president Alan D. Sobel, CPA, CGMA, managing member at SobelCo, originated the concept of the pass-through entity legislation and worked with the NJCPA to help write the Act. It is estimated to save New Jersey business owners $200 to $400 million annually on their federal tax bills, due to the election to pay income taxes at the entity level instead of at the personal income tax level. The NJCPA advocated for the bill with the New Jersey Legislature, which unanimously supported the legislation. Governor Murphy signed the Act into law on Jan. 13, 2020. Since the signing, the NJCPA has worked extensively to educate its members on the new tax benefit and has worked closely with the New Jersey Division of Taxation on issues surrounding the implementation of the law. “The award means a great deal to us. The Pass-through Business Alternative Income Tax Act is a crucial way for business owners across the state to mitigate the impact of the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017,” said Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and executive director at the NJCPA. “It also signifies how useful CPAs are in helping to advance causes that benefit so many in the Garden State. We are grateful for Alan Sobel’s ingenuity and perseverance.” The primary sponsors of the bill were Senators Paul Sarlo (D-36), Troy Singleton (D-7), Steven Oroho (R-24) and Anthony Bucco (R-25), along with Assembly members Daniel Benson (D-14) and Roy Freiman (D-16). Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin were also supportive of the bill. The Power of A Awards recognize the association community’s valuable contributions on the local, national and global levels and reward the outstanding accomplishments of associations and industry professionals who work tirelessly to solve problems and strengthen lives, the workforce, the economy and the world. Six associations won the ASAE Power of A Summit Awards, 25 organizations won the Gold Award and 32 organizations won the Silver Award.