Posted 10/10/11

NSTP BOARD MEMBER HUEBEL TELLS IRS USER FEES AND FINGERPRINTING TOO BURDENSOME

Keith Huebel, CPA and Board Member of National Society of Tax Professionals testified before the IRS on October 7th, telling IRS officials that the user fees and fingerprinting requirements contained in the latest proposed regulations are an unnecessary burden on tax professionals. In the new rules, the IRS stated that its portion of the user fees are for running background checks on Prometric and Daon Trusted Identity Services, the IRS's contractors for administering the competency exam and fingerprinting program. Huebel noted that these vendors already have security clearance and thus the fees imposed on tax preparers are for duplicative work.

Huebel also told the IRS that the fingerprinting process should be streamlined so that any tax professional whose fingerprints currently are on file with the FBI should be exempt from being fingerprinted again and paying another fee for the service. He also observed that there is no reason to exempt individuals in the PTIN, acceptance agent, or e-file provider program who are located outside of the U.S. from the fingerprinting requirement imposed on U.S. tax professionals.

Finally, Huebel, reciting the numbers, noted that while fees may appear minor, with the addition of the vendor fees, the total amount to be collected from the tax professional community is substantial, upwards of $25 million. These figures represent a significant financial burden on tax preparers and on the taxpayers they serve, Huebel observed.

For the outline of the Huebel's Testimony, click here.

Send Your Comments: The NSTP will be submitting final written public comments to the IRS by the late October deadline referenced in the regulations. If you are interested in making your views known, please send an e-mail with your comments on the regulations to Lucia Smeal at govrelations@nstp.org by Monday, October 17th. She will summarize member comments and add them to the NSTP's official written testimony which will be sent to the IRS on October 26th. The proposed regulations are posted on the NSTP website in the Registered Tax Return Preparer/PTIN section.