The ABA Tax Section has submitted comments to the Treasury Department and IRS on Final Circular 230 Regulations Governing Written Tax Advice:

I am writing on behalf of the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association to express our concern about the adverse impact that the final Circular 230 regulations governing written tax advice are having on the delivery of tax advice to clients and the role of tax advice in the administration of our tax system….

We have previously filed extensive comments on the regulations in their various proposed and final forms. We have consistently supported the main purpose of the regulations, which is to address the shelter opinion abuses that emerged in the latter part of the 1990’s. Throughout these comments, however, we have also emphasized the need to assure that the impact of the regulations did not unduly burden the ability of tax practitioners to provide — and taxpayers to receive — written tax advice.

We believe that in many important respects, the regulations are producing undesirable consequences at a level that is disproportionate to the associated benefits to the tax system. For that reason, and as explained below, we urge that immediate attention be given to revising the regulations.