“There is nothing more unequal than the equal treatment of unequal people.”
- Thomas Jefferson -
WebCPA reports that a bloke named John Ams of the National Society of Accountants testified before Congress on Tuesday suggesting that CPA and attorney tax preparers who are currently regulated by state authorities should be subject to the same IRS preparer standards to which non-state regulated tax preparers are subject:
NSA executive vice president John Ams testified Tuesday that the IRS should treat all paid tax preparers the same way by subjecting all of them to the requirement for Preparer Tax Identification Numbers, and not exempt those who may be subject to state regulation.
Very well, Mr. Ams. If it’s a level playing field you want, let’s make non-CPA and non-attorney preparers meet the same standards that state-licensed CPA and attorney preparers must meet.
We can start with your own organization’s unlicensed, unregulated members as follows:
- Require non-CPA and non-attorney NSA members to obtain either a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a juris doctorate;
- Require non-CPA and non-attorney NSA members to complete 80 hours of continuing professional education every two years;
- Subject non-CPA and non-attorney NSA members to the restrictions on advertising imposed by the various state boards of accountancy: and
- Require non-CPA and non-attorney NSA members to carry malpractice insurance.
Let’s truly level the playing field, Mr. Ams.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Levelling the Tax Preparer Playing Field at Taxes // Sep 4, 2010 at 4:57 pm
[...] [...]
2 LawStudent // Sep 6, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Peter,
Do you really have to complete 80 hours every two years?
3 Peter // Sep 7, 2010 at 10:49 am
Stephen,
Sadly, yes.
4 Unenrolled Tax Preparer Outfit Shut Down for Tax Fraud // Sep 16, 2010 at 11:52 am
[...] Levelling the Tax Preparer Playing Field [...]
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