,,ii #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ice ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #ad1 #bjae,mr4 ,booker introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and the ,consumer ,financial ,protection ,act of #bjaj to regulate tax return preparers and refund anticipation payment arrangements1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,tax ,refund ,protection ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,regulation of tax return preparers 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,a of chapter #hj of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #ghab4 ,regulation of tax return preparers 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 establish a program to license or certify tax return preparers subject to this section1 7#b7 regulate such tax return preparers1 and 7#c7 before licensing or certifying a person as a tax return preparer subject to this section1 require that the person demonstrate-- 7,a7 good character1 7,b7 good reputation1 7,c7 necessary qualifications to enable the person to provide to taxpayers valuable service as a tax return preparer1 and 7,d7 competency to perform the functions of a tax return preparer4 7b7 ,authority ,to impose a fee ,the ,secretary shall require tax return preparers subject to this section to pay a reasonable fee for licensing or certification under this section4 7c7 ,disclosure requirements ,the ,secretary shall1 by rule1 require tax return preparers subject to this section to provide a disclosure statement to taxpayers that shall contain statements-- 7#a7 identifying the amount of fees such tax return preparer charges for preparing a ,federal income tax return1 filing a ,federal income tax return1 or executing a refund anticipation payment arrangement1 and 7#b7 identifying the average amount of time in which a taxpayer who files a ,federal income tax return electronically can expect to receive a refund by mail1 according to information provided by the ,internal ,revenue ,service4 7d7 ,disciplinary procedures ,after notice and opportunity for a hearing1 the ,secretary may take any enforcement action against a tax return preparer subject to this section who-- 7#a7 is incompetent1 7#b7 is disreputable1 7#c7 violates regulations prescribed under this section1 or 7#d7 with intent to defraud1 willfully and knowingly misleads or threatens a taxpayer4 7e7 ,tax return preparer subject to section ,a tax return preparer is subject to this section if such preparer is not subject to section #ccj of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4 7f7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section-- 7#a7 ,tax return preparer ,see section #ggja7;a77#cf7 for the definition of a tax return preparer4 7#b7 ,refund anticipation payment arrangement ,the term refund anticipation payment arrangement has the meaning given such term by section #ajbi;,b7d77#b7 of the ,consumer ,financial ,protection ,act of #bjaj4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for subchapter ,a of chapter #hj of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by inserting after the item related to section #ghaa the following new item3 ,sec4 #ghab4 ,regulation of tax return preparers4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to returns filed after ,december #ca1 #bjae4 #c4 ,regulation of refund anticipation payment instruments 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,b of the ,consumer ,financial ,protection ,act of #bjaj 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #eeaa et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #ajbi;,b4 ,regulation of refund anticipation payment arrangements 7a7 ,in general ,the ,bureau shall regulate refund anticipation payment arrangements4 7b7 ,disclosure requirements ,the ,bureau shall1 by rule1 require tax return preparers to provide a disclosure statement to a consumer that shall contain statements-- 7#a7 identifying the amount of fees for executing a refund anticipation payment arrangement2 7#b7 describing1 in the case of a refund anticipation payment arrangement involving a depository account not controlled by the consumer1 the difference in days between the average amount of time by which a consumer receives the tax refund 7in whole or in part7 from a refund anticipation payment arrangement and the average amount of time by which a consumer who files a ,federal income tax return electronically receives the tax refund deposited directly to that consumer's deposit account by the taxing authority2 7#c7 that a refund anticipation payment arrangement is not necessary to receive a tax refund2 and 7#d7 that1 if a consumer does not receive a tax refund or the amount of the tax refund is less than the amount anticipated under the refund anticipation payment arrangement1 the consumer may be responsible for paying any fees and interest associated with a refund anticipation payment arrangement4 7c7 ,requirements under ,,tila ,the ,bureau shall promulgate regulations that1 to the extent practicable1 require tax return preparers that enter into a refund anticipation payment arrangement to comply with section #abh of the ,truth in ,lending ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afch7 to the same extent as a creditor making a consumer credit transaction other than under an open end credit plan4 7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,refund anticipation payment arrangement ,the term refund anticipation payment arrangement means an arrangement under which1 in exchange for ,federal income tax preparation services1 a consumer agrees to pay a fee or interest upon receipt of the consumer's tax refund to a tax return preparer1 lender1 or other affiliated lender by-- 7,a7 requesting the ,federal ,government to deposit such tax refund1 in whole or in part1 directly into a depository account designated by either the consumer or the tax return preparer1 lender1 or other affiliated lender2 or 7,b7 directly paying the fee or interest to the tax return preparer1 lender1 or other affiliated lender4 7#b7 ,tax return preparer ,the term tax return preparer means a tax return preparer 7as defined in section #ggja7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf7 who is not subject to regulation under section #ccj of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of contents of the ,dodd-,frank ,wall ,street ,reform and ,consumer ,protection ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #ecja et seq47 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #ajbi;,a the following3 ,sec4 #ajbi;,b4 ,regulation of refund anticipation payment arrangements4 4 7c7 ,exclusion for certain tax preparers 7#a7 ,in general ,section #ajbg7;d7 of the ,consumer ,financial ,protection ,act of #bjaj 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #eeag7;d77 is amended by striking paragraph 7#a7 and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,except as permitted in paragraph 7#b71 the ,bureau may not exercise any rulemaking1 supervisory1 enforcement1 or other authority over any person that is a certified public accountant1 permitted to practice as a certified public accounting firm1 or certified or licensed for such purpose by a ,state1 or any individual who is employed by or holds an ownership interest with respect to a person described in this subparagraph1 when such person is performing or offering to perform-- 7,a7 customary and usual accounting activities1 including the provision of accounting1 tax 7except as related to tax return preparers pursuant to section #ajbi;,b71 advisory1 or other services that are subject to the regulatory authority of a ,state board of accountancy or a ,federal authority2 or 7,b7 other services that are incidental to such customary and usual accounting activities1 to the extent that such incidental services are not offered or provided-- 7i7 by the person separate and apart from such customary and usual accounting activities2 or 7ii7 to consumers who are not receiving such customary and usual accounting activities4 4 7#b7 ,conforming amendments ,section #ajbg7;d7 of the ,consumer ,financial ,protection ,act of #bjaj 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4 #eeag7;d77 is amended-- 7,a7 in the subsection heading1 by striking and tax preparers2 and 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7i7 in subparagraph 7,a7-- 7,i7 by striking paragraph 7#a77;,a7 or 7#a77;,b7 and inserting that paragraph2 and 7,,ii7 by striking paragraph 7#a77;,a7 each place it appears and inserting paragraph 7#a72 7ii7 in subparagraph 7,c7-- 7,i7 by striking ,for purposes of subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b71 a person described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7 and inserting ,a person described in paragraph 7#a72 and 7,,ii7 by striking clause 7i7 or 7ii7 of paragraph 7#a77;,a7 and inserting subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 of paragraph 7#a72 and 7iii7 in subparagraph 7,d71 by striking paragraph 7#a77;,a7 or 7#a77;,b7 and inserting that paragraph4 #d4 ,split refunds may include tax return preparer 7a7 ,in general ,section #fdjb of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following3 7m7 ,split refunds ,an income tax refund requested on a return of ,federal income tax prepared by an income tax preparer may be split between the preparer and the taxpayer in accordance with the split requested by the taxpayer on the return1 except that the amount designated for the preparer may not exceed the amount prescribed by the ,secretary by regulation or other guidance4 ,a split of an individual income tax return under this subsection shall not be treated as disreputable conduct merely because the taxpayer requested such split4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by subsection 7a7 shall apply with respect to returns for taxable years ending after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #e4 ,regulations ,regulations issued under section #ghab of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 as added by section #b1 and regulations issued under section #ajbi;,b of the ,consumer ,financial ,protection ,act of #bjaj1 as added by section #c1 should be coordinated to the extent practicable4