Dems seek more authority for IRS

Two Democratic tax writers released legislation Thursday giving the IRS broader authority to regulate tax return preparers.

{mosads}Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.), a former chairman of the Finance Committee, and Ben Cardin (Md.) said the bill would protect taxpayers by ensuring that paid preparers were competent enough to do the job right. 

“It’s bad enough that taxpayers have to navigate their way through an overly complex tax code, but worse that many also unknowingly rely on fraudulent or incompetent tax preparers to help with their returns,” Wyden said.

The bill comes after the federal courts struck down an IRS initiative to further regulate paid preparers. The IRS rules would have, among other things, required preparers to complete continuing education requirements. 

The agency now offers those sorts of classes on a voluntary basis, but has asked Congress to give it more explicit authority. Republicans have showed little interest in giving the IRS more power, given the agency’s improper scrutiny of Tea Party groups.