AICPA Comment Letter Opposing Merger of IRS's OPR and RPO

In a letter sent to the IRS, the AICPA opposed any proposal to merge the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and Return Preparer Office (RPO). Combining OPR and RPO would cause such confusion to proliferate, and, therefore, increase the likelihood of harming taxpayers. Aside from the fact that OPR and RPO perform significantly different IRS functions, the combination of OPR and RPO could create potential conflicts of interest and divert resources from OPR’s critical role of enforcing professional standards.