700,000 Tax Preparers Expected to Join 

An estimated 700,000 tax preparers are expected to join in a new class-action lawsuit filed by Allen Buckley of Allen Buckley Law in Atlanta, GA, and Stuart Bassin of The Bassin Law Firm in Washington, DC, on behalf of the plaintiffs, which include CPAs Adam Steele and Brittany Montrois. Steele is a certified public accountant (CPA) licensed by the State of Minnesota. Montrois is also a CPA, licensed by the State of Georgia.

The suit, 1:cv-14-1523, alleges that the IRS requirement that tax preparers register each year and pay a fee to obtain a PTIN number is not authorized and therefore is not legal. The litigants are asking for an end to the registration requirements; the return of some $150 million in fees not used to administer the program; and prohibition of similar fees in the future. It also asks that the IRS be barred from collecting any more information than necessary to register for a PTIN.

The suit builds on a similar lawsuit filed by the American Institute of CPAs earlier this year to stop the IRS from implementing a voluntary certification program for independent tax preparers. That case has not yet been resolved.

Sources: Copy of complaint at Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/239085100/Adam-Steele-Brittany-Montrois-et-al-versus-United-States-of-America; Kelly Phillips Erb in Forbes at http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/09/08/irs-hit-with-class-action-suit-over-tax-preparer-user-fees/; Accounting Today at http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/legal-watch/cpas-sue-irs-over-ptin-fees-71919-1.html