In light of the final ruling in the “Loving” case, which doesn’t give the IRS authority to regulate paid income tax preparers (except for preparers governed by circular 230, like Enrolled Agents, CPAs and others), more “bad” tax preparers have been surfacing who take advantage of taxpayers and give all preparers a bad name. See this article in AccountingToday by Jeff Stimpson as he questions how well the profession can help shut down these preparers: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/tax_essentials/can-the-profession-control-bad-preparers-70803-1.html Since the courts have deemed the regulation issue DOA, except for voluntary compliance (this is working so well already) and the profession itself has all ten fingers in a dyke with twice as many holes, the only hope seems to be legislative (perhaps at the state level, as the climate isn’t right at this time for Congress to change circular 230 and let the IRS regulate tax preparation). As this article says, hairdressers and plumbers need a state license; shouldn’t tax preparers need one as well? For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Musings of a Burbank CPA: IRS Reinstates Some Suspended or Disbarred Tax Practitioners after Loving Decision
In light of the final ruling in the “Loving” case, which doesn’t give the IRS authority to regulate paid income tax preparers (except for preparers governed by circular 230, like Enrolled Agents, CPAs and others), the IRS has reinstated some paid preparers it had suspended or disbarred before the case results: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs_watch/irs-reinstates-suspended-disbarred-tax-practitioners-loving-decision-70752-1.html?utm_campaign=tax%20practice-may%2029%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&ET=webcpa%3Ae2695025%3A2498807a%3A&st=email Since tax preparation doesn’t constitute representation under the court rulings, paid tax preparers cannot be suspended or disbarred from IRS practice, so those preparers so suspended or disbarred need to see if they have been reinstated. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
CPA Tax Musings: Discrepancy Seen in Nearly Half of Alimony Deductions Reported to IRS
This posting by Michael Cohn in AccountingToday talks about another problem in the IRS world – compliance testing on deductions for alimony (spousal support) vs. the corresponding income claimed on other tax returns: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs_watch/discrepancy-seen-in-nearly-half-of-alimony-deductions-reported-to-irs-70660-1.html?utm_campaign=daily-may%2016%202014&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&ET=webcpa%3Ae2659209%3A2498807a%3A&st=email First of all, is this problem in the deductions taken or the income reported? (I have no data, but I would guesss that later more than the former.) Why hasn’t the IRS put safeguards in place to match up items quickly as soon as both returns are filed? This is another problem that the IRS really needs to address. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa