Abstract
A complex web of overlapping rules of law and professional ethics regulates the work of return preparers. Some of this complexity reflects the overall complexity of the tax system and the transactional activity to which it applies. Some of the complexity occurs because returns are prepared by members of different professions. The fact that preparers, depending on their professional status, are subject to discipline by the Director of Practice of the Internal Revenue Service, by the AICPA, by state bar and accounting regulatory authorities, under the penalty provisions of the Code, and perhaps through malpractice and contract law, is nonetheless not sufficient justification for all of the complexity. The definition of appropriate conduct in preparing returns does not truly vary with the professional status of the preparer, even if the sanction for improper action varies. Furthermore, the preparer penalty structure of the Code should be more closely coordinated with the taxpayer penalty structure.
Recommended Citation
Lang, Michael B.
(1998)
"Commentary on Return Preparer Obligations,"
Florida Tax Review: Vol. 3:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/ftr/vol3/iss1/4