Eric M. Pauly (J.D. 2008, Washburn) has published Note, Raising Penalty Standard "More Likely Than Not" Creates Conflict Between Tax Lawyers and Their Clients, 47 Washburn L.J. 757 (2008). Here is the Conclusion:
The IRS, the Treasury, academia, and private practice have all acknowledged the huge impact of the § 6694 amendment. The most significant problem of the amendment is that it created a conflict of interest between a tax return preparer and a taxpayer. To resolve this problem, tax return preparer and taxpayer standards should be the same. Congress should increase the taxpayer standard to “more likely than not” to equal the amended § 6694 tax return preparer standard. This would increase the perception of the fairness of the U.S. tax system. It would also make the tax penalty sections parallel with the accounting standard for uncertain tax positions.




