SBA's Live Web Chat Series to Highlight

 Tax Issues for Small Business Owners

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AICPA's vice president of Taxation Thomas P. Ochsenschlager will answer small business tax questions

Thursday, December 22, 2005 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., EST

WASHINGTON ─ The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that Thomas P. Ochsenschlager, vice president of Taxation with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), will host the SBA's December Web chat on "Tax Planning & Preparation for Small Businesses."

Ochsenschlager will answer questions from participants on Thursday, December 22, 2005, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., EST, sharing insightful information on tax issues for small business owners.  This SBA live Web chat will engage business owners in a national dialogue on tax implications for business owners, and allow participants to get valuable tax tips.

Ochsenschlager works with the AICPA Tax Executive Committee in developing AICPA tax policy, shaping and communicating the Institute's initiatives in tax matters, and providing tax products and services for members.  Ochsenschlager is also responsible for interacting with the federal government on tax-related issues, acting as a liaison with the national office of the Internal Revenue Service and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for Tax Policy, and working closely with Congressional tax committees on tax-related issues.

Ochsenschlager is a national lecturer on current tax developments and has spoken at the Northwest Tax Conference, the University of Denver Tax Institute, the Great Plains Tax Institute, the Kansas Tax Conference, the Heart of America Tax Conference, and the Oklahoma Tax Institute.  He has been named for four consecutive years as one of the 100 most influential accountants by Accounting Today magazine.  Ochsenschlager is a member of the AICPA and the Virginia Bar Association.

The Web chat provides business owners with the opportunity to have conversations about relevant business issues with industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs.  Participants will have direct, real-time access to the Web chats via questions they submit online in advance and during the session, with instantaneous answers.

Participants can join the live Web chat by going online to www.sba.gov, and clicking "Your Small Business Voice Online Chat."  Web chat participants may post a question for Ochsenschlager

before the December 22nd chat by visiting http://app1.sba.gov/liveMeeting/liveOchsenschlager/intro.cfm and posting their questions online.