When I read stuff like this, I have to ask “What was the government argument?” As it turns out, it’s quite the legal adventure:
The Obama administration on Tuesday defended its effort to regulate the tax return preparation business for the first time in U.S. history, basing its case largely on a 19th century law dealing with horses lost or killed in the Civil War.
At an appellate court hearing on a challenge brought by libertarian lawyers challenging the administration, Justice Department Tax Division lawyer Gilbert Rothenberg said: “I hate to beat a dead horse, especially one from the Civil War era.”
But he explained that the administration sees the “Horse Act of 1884” as providing ample authority for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to regulate the tens of thousands of preparers who fill out millions of Americans’ federal tax returns.
[…]
After the Civil War, many Americans brought war loss claims against the U.S. government, often for dead or missing horses.
A post-war industry emerged of agents who would press war loss claims for a fee, usually a percentage of the claim collected. Soon, claim values were being fraudulently inflated.
In response, the government started regulating these intermediaries, barring unscrupulous ones and certifying honest ones as “enrolled agents,” a title that is still used today by people who represent clients in matters before the IRS.
The IRS is arguing that tax return preparers represent their customers in much the same way that enrolled agents do, so the agency should be able to expand regulation to include preparers.
That constitution is just some dirty old outdated piece of paper whose writers would never be smart enough to comprehend the wonders of modern American life. Now, the Horse Act of 1884 on the other hand…
When I read stuff like this, I have to ask “What was the government argument?” As it turns out, it’s quite the legal adventure:
That constitution is just some dirty old outdated piece of paper whose writers would never be smart enough to comprehend the wonders of modern American life. Now, the Horse Act of 1884 on the other hand…