Suing the IRS – And Winning

by Ryan Young on February 18, 2014

Proving that sometimes good guys can win, our friends at the Institute for Justice are celebrating a big win against the IRS. In a move supported by large, established tax preparation firms, the IRS tried to require all tax preparers to get licenses. The licenses, along with other requirements such as annual continuing education courses, would raise costs for smaller firms and put many individual preparers out of business entirely; one sees why large firms would welcome the extra burden. They would face less competition. IJ sued to put a stop to his perfidy and preserve a more open competitive process…….Read the whole piece here. Read more about IJ’s victory here, and see a short video they produced about the case here. …..To Read More…..

My Take – I have followed this from the beginning and as I said before the IRS’s view of this is quite correct.  There are too many bad tax preparers out there, but the issue is bigger than that.  Just because this is an issue that needs to be addressed, it can’t be done by some bureaucrat’s pronouncement.  Bureaucracies must act within the boundaries of legislation.  They cannot act as legislators and bureaucrats, although far too many courts and administrations have worked diligently to create their own legislation via dictate, which is what this was.  The problem is real.  The decision to overturn the IRS has nothing to do with the fact this problem exists and should be addressed by the Congress, or state legislatures, but the IRS was formed to enforce laws.....not write them.  The real fix is the repeal of the 16^th and 17^th amendments.