Unregulated Tax Return Preparers: Not Loving the Penalties

Authors

Sarah Oyer

Library of Congress Authority File

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79122466

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

In order to combat the problem of taxpayer noncompliance and to decrease the tax gap, the IRS has decided it is time to regulate tax return preparers. Regulations may be the answer to these problems, but the specific regulations the IRS wants to implement may overpenalize tax return preparers. This Comment argues that tax return preparers should be regulated but Congress needs to enact legislation that would limit the penalties and align them with those already in place for tax return preparer misconduct. Part II outlines the background surrounding the regulations and the reasons the IRS decided to implement the regulations 130 years after it was supposedly granted the authority to do so. Part III summarizes the specific regulations and the arguments against them, and discusses the problem of overpenalization. Part IV reviews the recent legal battle regarding these regulations and analyzes why the courts in Loving v. IRS made the right decision. Part V advocates for Congress to enact legislation authorizing regulations of tax return preparers while limiting the penalties that may be imposed.

Recommended Citation

Sarah Oyer, Unregulated Tax Return Preparers: Not Loving the Penalties, 52 San Diego L. Rev. 233 (2015).
Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol52/iss1/6