Ron Schenone

IRS To Begin Regulating Paid Tax Preparers – Competency Test Requirement – Ethical Standards

Posted by on Jan 4, 2010 | 3 Comments

The IRS is proposing that paid tax preparers be required to take a competency test and also adhere to ethical standards. The new requirements will not be in place for this tax season, but the IRS hopes to have a plan in place before next year. Another requirement is that paid tax prepares also register with the government before applying their trade on the open market.

A recent article also states that:

“As tax season begins, most Americans will turn to tax return preparers to help with one of their biggest financial transactions of the year,” Shulman said. The new regulations “will help ensure taxpayers receive competent, ethical service from qualified professionals and strengthen the integrity of the nation’s tax system.”

Shulman said he hopes to have all paid tax preparers registered by the 2011 filing season. Preparers will be given about three years to meet competency requirements.

More than 80 percent of taxpayers use a paid tax preparer or tax software to complete their yearly returns. However, paid tax preparers are unregulated in many states, unless they are also lawyers, certified public accountants or enrolled agents who represent taxpayers before the IRS.

Lawyers, certified public accountants and enrolled agents will not be affected by the new regulations. Shulman said those preparers already are regulated through their professions.

I’m excited. I would be more excited if we tossed out all of the ugly rules and just have a flat tax for all Americans. This would totally eliminate all of the BS and cost that the average citizen must endure at this time of the year. Not only do we get screwed having to pay the tax, but we have to hire someone to find out how much the screwing will cost us! LOL

What do you think? How about a flat tax, people?

Comments welcome.

Source

  • Dick

    Hope they give better training to tax preparers than their boss, Tim Geithner, got. BTW, maybe they should spread some of their focus to the 535 in congress?
    I thought the States regulated tax preparers? Any one know different?

  • thingktank

    Stupefying deductions and exceptions inevitably serve the wealthiest among us because they can retain expensive tax preparation services. Wealthy Americans have an effective tax burden below 20%. Without all those self-serving deductions, a flat tax would actually increase average tax rate.

    And just look to Obama’s Economic Super Friends who can’t (won’t) pay their taxes. These are the wizards who are supposed to save the financial world from certain doom? If these clowns can’t (won’t) figure out what they owe, how can Joe Sixpack be expected to? Simplification never had a more obvious set of poster children than the current cabinet. If nothing else, it would be amusing to hear them argue against the idea.

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) claims that between $240 billion and $600 billion is spent on tax preparation every year – about 20% of the total amount of tax collected! Surely we could find a more productive use for $240-$600 billion.

    IRS agents would have less to do. Think of the cost and time savings if the vast resources of these professionals were diverted away from insidious audits and collections to help out the SEC’s enforcement division.

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    thingktank,
    The excuse would be that it would cost $601 billion to bail out all of the accounts who would lose their jobs!