Congressman Vela Unveils Legislation to Protect Taxpayers

Press Release

Today, Congressman Filemon Vela (D-TX) announced the introduction of the Tax-preparer Enforcement, Accountability and Minimum Standards (TEAMS) Act.

The bill seeks to establish minimum standards in training and certification for anyone who prepares a federal tax return. The legislation follows a U.S. Government Accountability Office Report that found that 17 of 19 tax returns were prepared incorrectly by tax preparers, requiring the IRS to expend extra resources in reviewing and collecting penalties for the errors.

"There are two things in this world that are for certain, one of them is paying taxes," said Congressman Filemon Vela. "The IRS receives over 150 million tax returns each year, and most of them are completed incorrectly. At the very worst, individuals with no formal training in tax preparation pose as professionals in the field. These imposters take advantage of hard-working taxpayers by scamming them for a fee. The incorrectly prepared returns often incur penalties from the IRS that are too costly for families to pay. These types of scams affect South Texas and rural areas across the nation at an alarming rate. My bill would help to regulate the tax preparer industry by setting minimal qualification standards and punish those who continue to fraudulently prepare taxes."

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