Revising the IRS’s “current and ineffectual definition of who is a ‘qualified appraiser’” is now at the top of the to-do list for ASA BV Committee Chairman Mike Hill Jr., ASA, CPA/ABV, and its government relations consultant, Peter Barash, according to the ASA’s most recent e-letter (www.appraisers.org). First, the appraisal reforms were stripped from the final House/Senate conference version of H.R. 4297 (Tax Relief Act). Then they resurfaced in the Senate’s modified version of S.832 (Taxpayer Protection and Assistance Act), and H.R. 2830 (Pension Reform Bill), but the wheels of government bureaucracy continue to grind slowly, despite the ASA’s joining forces with the Appraisal Institute to double their lobbying power. Until Capitol Hill emerges from the summer doldrums, you can download the most recent IRS appraisal standards for free at BVresources.com; just click on the “Valuation Resources” link.