Talk:Tax advisor

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This article needs some organizational work, possibly in tandem with the article Enrolled Agent.

The initial definition of a tax advisor as a person trained in tax law is misleading. Tax advisors are not usually trained lawyers, but are more usually expert in a combination of tax rules and the practice of the taxation authorities. (Indeed, some tax advisors are former employees of a taxation authority.) The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled in R (Prudential plc) v Special Commissioner [2013] UKSC 1 that advice on applicable tax rules, given by a non-lawyer, is not professional legal advice protected by privilege.

The section of the article dealing with the United Kingdom is bizarre and misleading. (A) The applicable code of conduct is different for each of the professional bodies mentioned, so that there is no uniform code of conduct as suggested here. (B) There is no requirement for a tax advisor or tax consultant to be a member of any of the professional bodies mentioned.

These problems contribute to the overall low quality of the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.209.22.82 (talk) 17:20, 6 October 2017 (UTC)

The term "tax advisor" and the term "tax preparer" (meaning income tax return preparer) are probably not precisely equivalent, yet the article discusses both without a detailed distinction. These are related and somewhat overlapping concepts. Stay tuned. Famspear 16:54, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Post-script: The article also discusses "practice before the Internal Revenue Service" under Circular 230, which also is a related, overlapping concept. For example, in the United States you could be a "tax advisor" without actually preparing income tax returns. You could be a "tax advisor" without actually representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You could be an income tax return preparer without being a tax advisor -- and without representing taxpayers before the IRS. Famspear 16:57, 27 December 2006 (UTC)