Friday, February 13, 2009
By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer bob.lowry@htimes.com
Legislation aimed at predators; Hall pushes measure in House
MONTGOMERY –A bill that would require the registration and regulation of commercial tax preparers easily won approval Thursday from the Alabama Senate.
The bill, which passed on a 25-0 vote, is aimed at putting predatory tax preparers out of business, said Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, the Senate sponsor. Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, is sponsoring the bill in the House.
The legislation would require individual tax preparers to apply for an annually renewable license, fulfill a continuing education requirement and pass a basic proficiency exam approved by the Internal Revenue Service.
The legislation would also provide free tax preparation to low-income taxpayers. It would establish a seven-member state Board of Individual Tax Preparers to oversee tax preparers.
“I think this is a great consumer protection bill,” said Ross. “It allows us to assure that Alabamians are getting top-notch professional tax services no matter what their income level is.”
Ross said because some low-income taxpayers go to uneducated tax preparers, they often do not claim their earned income tax credit for children.
“We leave about $133 million on the table because people don’t know they can claim it,ʺ he said. “These individual tax preparers out there need to take this test to make a standard reporting to the IRS.” Ross said it’s even more important now for families to claim the credit because of the nation’s recession. He said the $133 million figure was based on estimates from the state Revenue Department from the last tax year.
Under Ross’s bill, lawyers, IRS employees and those licensed by the Alabama Board of Accountancy or a board of accountancy in another state would be exempt from the law.
A licensing fee for a tax preparer would cost $80.
