Ashley Davidson of RTC Accounting tells Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce members about tax changes in 2024 during a monthly meeting held at the Bull Pen restaurant. Davidson also shared beneficial business owner information about reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act.
Mirror photo by Matt Churella
TYRONE — Artificial intelligence and the Corporate Transparency Act were topics of discussion during the Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting Thursday.
Speaking during the breakfast gathering at the Bull Pen Restaurant, RTC Accounting senior accountant Ashley Davidson said there are many things that affect everyday businesses in an ever-changing world.
The Corporate Transparency Act requires small businesses to report information about ownership to the federal government or risk paying large fines, she said, adding the purpose is to track tax fraud issues and reduce money laundering by people who own multiple businesses.
“It shouldn’t be going to these moms and pops where you have one company and it’s your life. It should be these multi-company owners, and that is who they are targeting,” Davidson said. “They just unfortunately decided to get everybody.”
She said it’s a one-time filing on a government website based on the individuals who own businesses and/or control major business decisions. Future filings are only based on a change, such as if an address changes or a person’s driver’s license expires.
“You legally have to go in there and change it,” she said. “It’s not hard, it’s just another thing that they’re going to enforce (with fines).”
Blair County Commissioner Amy Webster, who attended the breakfast, said she looks at the act differently, since she is an attorney.
“It seems to me to be just another way of the government tracking what we have and what we do,” Webster said. “They say that the purpose is to avoid money laundering, but I don’t believe that at all.”
Davidson said the filing is straightforward and only takes a few minutes to complete.
There are “amazing” benefits to using AI tools, like ChatGPT and Claude, Davidson said.
“It’s something to definitely embrace and figure out how to use it to your benefit,” she said.
Davidson said she uses AI to write emails, but the tools can also be used to give business owners ideas on how to approach an employee who is underperforming at work.
“You can ask it almost anything and based on what you asked it, it will get more specific,” she said, adding AI learns information from users. “It will answer your questions better the more you use it,” she said.
Patricia Helbig, a teacher at the South Hills School of Business & Technology in State College, said she thinks AI can also be a nightmare for teachers, since students can use the tools to complete assignments.
Teachers can tell by their students’ writing styles they didn’t write the information, which could be plagiarized through using AI, she said.
Davidson said AI algorithms are going to become more popular over time and change the way people use computer software in their everyday lives.
“I think, three years from now, it’s going to be insane the changes that you see in your everyday software. It’s going to be different,” she said.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.
Eugen Boglaru is an AI aficionado covering the fascinating and rapidly advancing field of Artificial Intelligence. From machine learning breakthroughs to ethical considerations, Eugen provides readers with a deep dive into the world of AI, demystifying complex concepts and exploring the transformative impact of intelligent technologies.
