Should the Internal Revenue Service regulate Elmer Kilian, a retired Korean War Vet who hangs an “Eagle Tax Services” sign on his home in Eagle, Wisc. every tax season and prepares 80 to 100 income tax returns on his dining room table? It never did. Then, in 2010, after years of listening to complaints about the problems created by incompetent and dishonest unlicensed tax pros, the IRS decided to require all paid preparers to register with it and those who weren’t otherwise subject to national standards to pass a minimum competency test. Registration began in 2011 and preparers were supposed to pass the test by the end of this year.
Should the Internal Revenue Service regulate Elmer Kilian, a retired Korean War Vet who hangs an “Eagle Tax Services” sign on his home in Eagle, Wisc. every tax season and prepares 80 to 100 income tax returns on his dining room table? It never did. Then, in 2010, after years of listening to complaints about the problems created by incompetent and dishonest unlicensed tax pros, the IRS decided to require all paid preparers to register with it and those who weren’t otherwise subject to national standards to pass a minimum competency test. Registration began in 2011 and preparers were supposed to pass the test by the end of this year.