Report: IRS Allowed Thousands of Felons to Prepare Tax Returns

The IRS did not check whether tax preparers were properly complying with agency regulations over the last two years, allowing thousands of convicted felons to complete tax returns, the Treasury Department's inspector general has found.

The Internal Revenue Service requires tax preparers to register with the agency to get a preparer tax identification number, The Washington Free Beacon reports.

They must also include such personal information as their Social Security number, data about their business, professional credentials and any past felony convictions if applicable.

The inspector general's report, released in August, found that compliance checks were not performed by the IRS this year and in 2014, the Free Beacon reports. The agency also did not revoke the preparer ID numbers of anyone who violated the law.

The report found 19,496 preparers who were non-compliant with tax filing and payment obligations, the Free Beacon reports.

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