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Freedom Financial Network Experts Available to Discuss
IRS Crackdown on Credit Counseling Industry
-- Growing investigation eliminates 40 percent of industry --
San Mateo, Calif.,
May 16, 2006 – This week, the Internal Revenue
Service announced it is revoking the tax-exempt status
of every one of the 41 credit-counseling agencies on
which it has completed an audit during a three-year-old
crackdown on the credit-counseling industry, the Associated
Press and other news outlets reported. The IRS has 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, co-founder and
CEO of Freedom Financial Network, LLC, 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
Association challenging provisions of the law that went
into effect in October 2005.
Other alternatives to bankruptcy, including
creditor negotiation and debt resolution
Stroh and his firm 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 budget@freedomfinancialnetwork.com.
To further support financial literacy,
Freedom Financial Network has 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 budget@freedomfinancialnetwork.com.
Freedom Financial Network, LLC (www.freedomfinancialnetwork.com),
provides consumer debt resolution services through
its Freedom Debt Relief and Freedom Tax Relief divisions.
The company works for the consumer, negotiating with
creditors to lower principal balances due that can
often result in savings of up to half the amount owed,
and offering an alternative to bankruptcy, credit
counseling, and debt consolidation. Freedom Financial
Network has served more than 7,500 clients nationwide
and manages more than $250 million in consumer debt,
Based in San Mateo, Calif., the company also maintains
offices in Sacramento and Tempe, Ariz. The company’s
co-founders and CEOs, Andrew Housser and Brad Stroh,
are semifinalists in Ernst & Young’s 2006
Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
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