IRS Oversight Found Lacking


By Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press
Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The Internal Revenue Service does a poor job overseeing the paid tax preparers used by more than half of the nation's taxpayers, the agency's inspector general said in a report released Monday.

"The IRS currently is not able to track, monitor or control preparers' activities and compliance, or even determine the total number of paid tax return preparers," said J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general for tax administration. "As a result, the IRS currently is not capable of ensuring that paid preparers adhere to professional standards and follow the law."

The IRS has acknowledged the problem, announcing last month that it intends to propose new rules by the end of the year. Its first public forum on the new rules is scheduled for July 30 in Washington.

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