WOW - there is so much significance here, and I don’t even think the plaintiffs or their attorneys even realize it.
This was not about the hardships for the tax preparers....the real victor here is the American taxpayer. This would have more or less turned all accountants into IRS agents. We would have effectively LOST OUR ADVOCATE in all of these proceedings. This would have been the end of property rights in a way had it gone the wrong way.
“We would have effectively LOST OUR ADVOCATE in all of these proceedings. This would have been the end of property rights in a way had it gone the wrong way.”
Very true. Under the new regulations it is questionable if a return preparer should represent a taxpayer in an audit due to the potential exposure to themselves. This potential conflict of interest for the preparer creates a situation where they must become their own advocate rather than their client’s advocate.
I have heard CPA’s tell of being threatened by IRS agents with preparer penalties if they did not cooperate.
Not only that....we might have lost the ability of even doing our own taxes via the software(which might have been cited as being “unlicensed” or one may be cited as being unlicensed should one had used the software) of these tax prep companies.
Since many folks do their own taxes, folks may have lost the ability to do our their taxes because they could be accused of being an unlicensed tax preparer, even of their own personal income tax returns. Oh there is great wickedness in what the IRS was trying to do!