IRS: Better Not Call Yourself a "Registered Tax Return Preparer"

IRS Notice 2011 announced to tax preparers that they are not to refer to themselves as "registered tax return preparers" (I would assume that similar phrases like "registered tax preparer" would draw IRS ire as well) until they pass the IRS competency exam (not presently available). The notice also requires a suitability check for those in practice who pass the exam before being recognized as registered and will require those claiming such registration to disclaim special skills compared to other registered preparers (those living in Alabama are familiar with similar disclaimers).

Certainly this last notice does its best to prove Joe Kristan's point that federal oversight of tax preparers is not in the public interest. Banning the use of "registered tax return preparer" until passage of an exam two to three years from its first administration seems ludicrous--and who knows how "suitability" will be defined.