AICPA Protests IRS Regulation for Tax Preparers

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently sent a letter to the IRS calling a proposed “voluntary” certification program for unenrolled tax return preparers “unlawful and improper”. In a recent ruling, Loving, No. 13-5061 (D.C. Cir. 2/11/14), it was held that the IRS does not have the statutory authority to regulate tax return preparers. In the aftermath, IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen, stated that while the agency may look to Congress to grant the authority it seeks, it was considering implementing a “voluntary certification program” in the meantime, calling it “continuing education”.

In a strongly-worded response to the IRS, the AICPA expressed concerns that the new program would, “…cause significant legal problems that would ultimately frustrate the IRS goals, confuse the public and lead to litigation.” You can read the entire list of concerns from the official letter here. Unfortunately, the IRS has indicated that it has every intention of moving forward with the program that will be implemented through the issuance of a revenue procedure, rather than through proposed regulations (which would normally require a comment period). For an excellent summary of the AICPA objections and how the situation continues to unfold, please visit the link below.