Comment on FR Doc # N/A

I would like to voice my concerns on IRS Notice 2008-0013 specifically relating to Tax Return Preparer Penalties under Code Sections 6694 & 6695 of the Internal Revenue Code. 1) Under the proposed notice, it appears all rights to a hearing before a committee of our peers currently offered under IRS Circular 230 would be eliminated. The decision to assess the penalty would be at the “sole discretion” of an IRS Employee. Since there will be little or no accountability on the part of the IRS Employee assessing this penalty, the opportunity for abusing their new found power could run rampant. There is also the “conflict of interest” created in an audit situation if an IRS Auditor alludes to the penalty assessment against the Tax Preparer if they fail to “see things” the Services way. Under Circular 230 Tax Preparers are charged with the duty of vigorously defending the rights of the Taxpayer. This would place Tax Preparers in a position of being unjustly penalized for following the Circular 230 Standards we are sworn to uphold. 2) The Tax Preparer Community is being told that this penalty will be assessed by the IRS without any specific details or information on why and how the penalty was determined. Not only is the burden of proof on the Tax Preparer, but a Freedom of Information request must be filed to determine the reason for the assessment. Furthermore, there is presently no appeals process at the local level short of going to District Tax Court. This will create a back-log on a court system that already finds itself stretched to the limit. 3) IRS Circular 230 governs EAs, CPAs, Attorneys, Certified Financial Planners and Actuaries. The current regulations leave little latitude for the above tax preparers and these penalties. After the 3rd penalty assessment a tax preparer is "disbarred" from representation before the IRS. This empowers a single IRS Employee or Office with the authority to discredit and destroy the practice of a Tax Return Professional. The likelihood of individuals inside the IRS abusing their authority or using it for retaliation is as likely as the misuse of power discovered in the 1998 Congressional IRS Hearings. How can we prevent going back to the pre-1998 abuse with the IRS employees wielding unlimited power without accountability for individual actions? You must adopt safe guards as you did following the 1998 Hearings. Protections like the Taxpayers Bill of Rights and the pro-taxpayer legislation would need to extend to tax preparers. The assessment of preparer's penalties should come with a presumption of innocence (especially from the Circular 230 community). The burden of proof should be on the IRS Employee. Anything short of this, will give rise to absolute power and abuse inside the agency. Elimination of Circular 230 tax preparers is like getting rid of your “good cholesterol”. This leaves the “less reputable preparers” on the street that will go under-ground at the first sight of trouble. Thank you for your time.