Articles

One thing emerges from the massive undertaking that is the regulation of paid tax preparers now being implemented. And that is that the Internal Revenue Service has done a very good job. Of course, there are rough spots and things that could have been done better. But overall, it's been done well.

There is still a need to better define what a paid preparer is. But I doubt that any other organization or person could have done better. And to have waited until everything was refined would have meant delaying something that is very necessary, which is ensuring that paid preparers are qualified to do what they do for money.

However, this could have become the center of furious controversy, and it hasn't. There is debate and grousing. There has not been the groundswell of opposition that could have stalled the process. The things that have made this work include the gradual approach, phasing in requirements instead of imposing them at one time. The other key has been the IRS's recognition of the compromises necessary to make things happen, particularly exempting CPAs, Enrolled Agents and tax attorneys from educational and testing requirements. I don't think this was the best outcome. but it was probably the only way the program would have been accepted.

The IRS is also doing a good job at education, with its notification to preparers about the need to apply for and receive Professional Tax Identification Numbers for the upcoming season. John Sapp, VP of sales for Drake Software, estimates that 80 percent of the roughly 4,500 customers he has appeared before in the last few weeks are aware of the need to get PTINs. Of course, there will be some who at the last minute say, "I didn't know about this."  But its impossible to avoid that. And while there are those who take the view that government can't do anything well, I think that's a knee-jerk reaction that adds little of value to political discourse.

No, this has been a good job in a difficult  - and massive - task in difficult times.

• Prev
• Next