Why tax preparers need to be regulated

[jainen]

U.S. vs. Tomlinson

First she said you couldn't prove she signed the return herself, because nobody was watching. Then she said you couldn't prove she knew the law well enough for errors to be intentional, her MBA and years of experience notwithstanding. Then she said she had no legal obligation to be truthful because Circular 230 only applied to CPAs, EAs, attorneys.

[Gail in Virginia]

I am not sure any amount of regulation works with some people. Wow.

[ILLMAS]

Ms. Tomlinson is in the wrong business she should be more like an attorney.

[kcjenkins]

No amount of regulation or required education and/or certification can stop a crook from being a crook.

[jainen]

>>No amount of regulation or required education and/or certification can stop a crook from being a crook<<

Tomlinson didn't start out as a criminal. She went to a good school and worked at legitimate companies. As I understood her reasoning, it was BECAUSE nobody was watching her or validating her education or holding her to ethical standards, that she thought she could get away with crimes that other professionals could not. In fact, she even argued that she SHOULD get away with the crimes for those very reasons. So I do think regulation would have prevented this particular mindset leading to fraud.

[kcjenkins]

You can not make a honest person steal just by not watching them, IMHO. Her own conscience should have been what was "holding her to ethical standards," not some outside agency. And no normal person 'starts out as a criminal', good schools or not.

[jainen]

>>You can not make a honest person steal just by not watching them<<

Well, no, but most people are not 100% saintly, and you can usually keep them in line by clearly defining what that line is. We even have a term, "crime of opportunity."