A debate is heating up among tax bloggers on whether or not tax preparers should be regulated. Some bloggers, such as Peter Pappas, think they should be. Others, including Joe Kristan, think they shouldn’t be.
I happen to practice in California, a state where all tax preparers are required to be licensed. It hasn’t done anything to improve the quality of work. After all, Western Tax Service was located in California. All California preparers must be either EAs, CPAs, attorneys, or registered with the California Tax Education Council (CTEC)
On the other hand, my professional society, the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) is very much in support of the idea of all preparers being regulated. Perhaps it might be because that would increase the number of Enrolled Agents. Or perhaps I’m just a bit too cynical about it.
In any case, I’ll wait to see the actual proposal (if and when it’s released by the IRS) before I come out one way or the other. My inclination, though, is that it will just add another bureaucracy with little positive results for taxpayers.