Yesterday, the IRS announced a major expansion of its Fresh Start initiative which attempts to […]
Category: IRS
The IRS’ Latest Scam Warning Is For The Poors and Olds
The helpful folks at the IRS are warning seniors and other high-risk taxpayers of a […]
Former IRS Agent Tries To Kill Witnesses In His $11 Million Fraud Case
Listen, if you're going to file fraudulent tax returns, try not to kill anyone in […]
IRS Stopping $1.6 Billion in Mistaken Homebuyer Tax Credits Doesn’t Impress Everyone
The Service gets an 'A' for effort but also 'D' for "do more with less." […]
Any PR Firms Looking for a Challenge Should Contact the IRS
But just know what you're getting yourself into: “Advancing the interests of the North Korean […]
Stupid Alabama Man Who Told IRS Agent That He Would Make 9/11 Look Like a Fire Drill Admits He Had a Few Beers Before Picking Up the Phone
Thomas Sitzler swears that he didn’t mean any harm, can’t even make a bomb, and […]
IRS Doesn’t Seem at All Worried About Overworking Already Overworked Employees
Earlier this week, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson gave her annual report to Congress. It's […]
This is Your Most Recent Last Chance to Bring That Offshore Money Home and Come Clean with the IRS
Doug Shulman believes in third chances: IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, who announced the program’s renewal […]
The IRS Seems Surprised That the Tax Gap Isn’t a Lot Worse
Your efforts to keep the increase in the tax gap under $100 billion is greatly […]
These New IRS Competency Exams Are Going To Be a Hoot
Our resident tax nerd, Joe Kristan, touched on the IRS competency exam a couple of weeks ago but yesterday the IRS officially rolled out the red carpet. So, if you prepare tax returns but aren’t a CPA, lawyer, or enrolled agent, you now have the distinct pleasure of spending $116 to spend a few hours with everyone’s favorite test vendor – Prometric – whose proctors will keep a watchful eye on you to make sure your ostomy bag isn’t a secret answer bank, that you aren’t packing heat and your gum is appropriately disposed of. What’s the point of all this, you ask? IRS Commish Doug Shulman can answer that:
“This is another major step forward in our effort to enhance tax preparation service to millions of taxpayers. People should feel assured that the person they hire to prepare their federal tax returns has a working knowledge of the tax code,” said Doug Shulman, IRS Commissioner. “The majority of tax return preparers are reputable professionals but the few bad apples cause great harm to taxpayers and the industry.”
Got it? It’s for the good of the country. Just make sure you don’t have a runny nose on the day of your test. That’ll get you in trouble.
IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman Puts Tax Preparers’ Job Security Concerns to Rest
“Perhaps the most telling indicator of taxpayer confusion over the code’s complexity is that today, 90% of individual taxpayers pay for professional tax preparation or tax software to prepare their tax returns. IRS research estimates that, over the past 10 years, the burden for the typical taxpayer has increased by about 20% and would likely be even more if they had to prepare returns themselves without any aids or tools. Moreover, we estimate individual taxpayers and businesses spend more than 7 [billion] hours each year complying with filing requirements.” [Tax-News via Tax Foundation]