Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member, Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., introduced legislation late Thursday to give the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service "explicit authority" to regulate paid tax return preparers.
The bill, The Taxpayer Protection Act of 2015, requires preparers to demonstrate competency in preparing tax returns, claims for refunds and related documents.
"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 in a statement. "This bill helps protect hard working taxpayers by ensuring that tax preparers are held to clear and enforceable standards."
