Comment on FR Doc # 2012-03576

The paid preparer's PTIN number should not be required to be shown on Form 990, Form 990-PF or any other return that is required to be open for public inspection. Anyone with access to Guidestar.org on the internet can pull a paid tax preparer's name and PTIN number from a 990 or 990-PF on this site. This person could then fraudulently put this information on any tax return he prepares. If the return is then filed electronically, there would be no way to match a signature with the signature of the person whose name is on the return. Even if this was possible, who would want to need to do it? I, as a professional tax preparer, do not want to be responsible for, or defend positions on, a tax return that I did not prepare. The regulations should be changed so that Form 990, Form 990-PF and any other tax return open for public inspection does not require the disclosure of a PTIN in the signature block of the return or anywhere else on the form that is open to public inspection. This information should be shown on a separate form that is not open for public inspection.