What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate how governmental regulation influences tax preparers' recommendations, particularly between CPAs and non-CPAs.

March 18, 2026

The Economic Benefits of Regulation: Evidence from Professional Tax Preparers.

Puntos clave

To investigate how governmental regulation influences tax preparers' recommendations, particularly between CPAs and non-CPAs.
Analyzed judgments of CPA and non-CPA tax practitioners
Used tax cases with ambiguous legal status
Compared responses to assess pro-taxpayer tendencies
CPAs demonstrated more pro-taxpayer recommendations than non-CPAs
Greater regulatory oversight led to more consistent and favorable positions for taxpayers
Findings suggest regulation positively impacts the quality of tax preparation advice

Resumen

Abstract ABSTRACT: An area of concern to tax policymakers is the role of third-party preparers in Income tax reporting. This research examines the degree of consistency in judgments of preparers subject to differing degrees of governmental regulation. Economic theory of regulation suggests that CPAs, who are subject to a higher degree of government regulation, would be expected to recommend and justify more pro-taxpayer positions in ambiguous areas of tax law than would unlicensed preparers. This hypothesis was tested by administering a set of tax cases with a high degree of uncertainty regarding the correct tax status to groups of CPA and non-CPA tax practitioners. CPAs were found to be consistently more pro-taxpayer than were non-CPAs.

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Cite This Study

Ayres et al. (Sat,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69ba429c4e9516ffd37a3082 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2308/tar-4490403

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