¹Treasury Circular 230, Regulations Governing the Practice of Attorneys, Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents and Appraisers Before the Internal Revenue Service (hereinafter, “Circular 230”).

²TD 9011 (7/27/02).

³REG-111835-99 (1/12/01).

⁴For an analysis of the proposed amendments and comments submitted by the AICPA, ABA, American College of Tax Counsel and the New York State Bar Association, see Willey, Gardner and Cress, “Proposed Amendments to Circular 230 (Parts I and II),” 32 The Tax Adviser 746 (November 2001) and 32 The Tax Adviser 830 (December 2001).

⁵This article does not address practice by former government employees, their partners and associates, which are regulated by Section 10.25. Firms that employ such persons should consult both Section 10.25 and their attorneys.

⁶See Wolfman, Holden and Harris, Standards of Tax Practice, Part I at pp. 17–19 (Tax Analysts, 5th ed., 1999).

⁷See id., at pp. 28–35, for a discussion of Circular 230 enforcement.

⁸According to TD 9011, note 2 supra, “[t]he final regulations modify the preexisting duty by simply requiring that, in addition to notifying the client of noncompliance, error, or omission, the practitioner advise the client of the consequences as provided under the Code and regulations of the noncompliance, error, or omission. This change requires practitioners to provide information that taxpayers who consult tax professionals typically expect to receive.” The AICPA had encouraged the adoption of the standard in Statements on Standards for Tax Services No. 6, Knowledge of Error: Return Preparation, which states in part, “when performing services for a taxpayer, a member may become aware of an error in a previously filed return or may become aware that the taxpayer failed to file a required return. The member should advise the taxpayer of the error and the measures to be taken.”

⁹AICPA members are subject to the Code of Professional Conduct and the SSTSs. CPAs who are not members may be subject to AICPA rules under state laws and regulations.

¹⁰This section may be renumbered when the IRS issues final regulations on tax shelter opinions within the next year.

¹¹See AICPA Letter to Eric Solomon, Deputy Assitant Secretary for Regulatory Affairs (Department of Treasury) regarding Circular 230 Section 10.27—Contingent Fees (10/1/02), p. 3.

¹²See id. at p. 1.

¹³See id. at p. 4.

¹⁴(7/26/90); see “FTC Issues Final Order Against AICPA Concerning Restraints on Certified Public Accountants” (FTC Docket No. C-3297, 8/7/90).