First of all, if the only way to obtain an Appeal is to file a Tax Court Petition because your original Tax Preparer allowed the time period to file a protest to pass, if your original tax preparer was not an Attorney, they could be charged with the unauthorized practice of law if they complete the Tax Court Petition for you in order to obtain an Appeal.
Moreover, one of the most effective defenses to the imposition of penalties and the associated interest on the penalties available to Tax Counsel, is to argue that the Taxpayer relied on a Tax Professional in the preparation of the return at issue. This creates a potential conflict of interest between you and your original Tax Preparer where your interest is to protect yourself financially and your original Tax Preparer’s motivation may be to protect his reputation with the IRS. It therefore becomes highly unlikely that even where appropriate to do so, your original tax preparer will throw himself under the bus by admitting his errors in preparing the returns at issue for your financial benefit to his possible detriment with the IRS including the possibility of preparer penalties and detriment to his professional reputation with the IRS. No such conflict exists where you engage Tax Counsel that did not prepare the returns at issue to prosecute your Appeal.
