Chapter 1, Problem 37DQ

Matthew Bell, a salesman, couldn’t have been expected to know that CPAs are explicitly prohibited from charging contingent fees for tax return preparation.*** But Pam Williams apparently is not a CPA, so that was the deal that she and Mr. Bell struck. Does it seem fair to you that the Tax Court came down so hard on him for his reliance on Ms. Williams? Discuss. *** In the tax return preparation context, a contingent fee is one that is based on the amount of tax refund to be received and, as in Bell, is stated as a fixed (or sliding-scale) percentage of that refund. Contingent fees are prohibited for the simple and obvious reason that, if allowed, they would encourage falsification in order to produce or increase the amount of a refund. Contingent fees are, however, allowed in audit defense work and in certain other contexts

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) can help taxpayers with what type of assistance? As a first step, rather than dealing with the IRS, when the taxpayer believes there are unusual circumstances involved. When the taxpayer feels the resolution applied by the IRS is unreasonable. If there is a financial difficulty, emergency, or hardship and the IRS needs to move faster than normal. When an audit results in a significant change and the deadline for appeal has passed.   Note:- Do not provide handwritten solution. Maintain accuracy and quality in your answer. Take care of plagiarism. Answer completely. You will get up vote for sure.

After Bill and Mercedes' tax return was selected for audit, Bill read on the Internet speculation that filing a paper tax return (instead of filing electronically) and extending a tax return deadline decrease the chance of IRS audit. Bill has convinced Mercedes that they need to use these strategies in the future and look for other ways to avoid audit. Questions for discussion include: 1. What are the timing requirements for filing a tax return and paying taxes owed? 2. Does Bill's action likely violate any IRS regulation? 3. If Bill's action does not violate IRS rules, it is ethical? Please make sure to respond to other students' discussion answers, especially if they have a different point of view than yours.