WASHINGTON, D.C.–The Justice Department announced today that a federal court in New Hampshire has ordered Mark G. Loll, who operates Tax-Tactics in Peterborough, N.H., to stop preparing frivolous income tax returns and to comply with future IRS requests that he provide his customer list or copies of returns he has prepared. The government sought the permanent injunction order as part of a crackdown on tax preparers who fail to comply with their federal-law obligation to turn over customer information to the IRS on demand.
The complaint in the case, filed last December, alleged that Loll failed to comply with an IRS request that he provide copies of customers’ returns or a list with the customers’ identifying information. Federal law requires all tax preparers to retain records of their return preparation for several years and to comply with IRS requests for certain customer information. Loll turned over his customer information to the Justice Department after it filed the lawsuit. The court order, to which Loll consented, requires him to continue to do so whenever asked by the IRS. Violations of injunctions can be punished as criminal contempt of court.
“Federal laws require tax preparers to keep customer information and to provide it to the IRS on request,” said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “The Department of Justice will take the action required to ensure that preparers comply with these laws.”
The injunction against Loll, entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, also prohibits him from asserting unrealistic or frivolous positions on tax returns he prepares.
The Justice Department has sought and obtained injunctions against more than 160 federal tax return preparers and promoters since 2001. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2006.htm. More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.
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