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AICPA unhappy with expanding IRS regulatory bureaucracy

August 25, 2010

It sounds like the AICPA wants to be just a little pregnant.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has objected to parts of the current round of IRS proposals, reports The Tax Advisor:

The AICPA’s comments focus on (1) the extension of the PTIN requirement to nonsigning employees of CPA firms; (2) the appropriate title for persons receiving a PTIN; (3) the IRS’s imposition of “reasonable user fees”; (4) foreign preparers; and (5) the comment period deadline.

But the AICPA is OK with other aspects of the IRS Commissioner Shulman's power grab:

The AICPA believes the issuance of one unique identifying number to each tax return preparer, coupled with making all preparers subject to the professional ethics standards of Circular 230 and the Code’s civil preparer penalty regime, will prove to be an effective method for addressing [IRS] concerns about taxpayers receiving competent and ethical service from qualified tax professionals.

It's sort of like letting cockroaches into your house. Once they're in, good luck trying to keep them in one room.

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