California Tax Education Council
2018 Public Awareness Campaign Targets “Ghost” Tax Preparers
Thursday, December 14, 2017 - 3 commentsCTEC is partnering with Franchise Tax Board (FTB) Public Affairs to expand its 2018 public awareness campaign to target tax preparers who do not sign client tax returns, also known as “ghost tax preparers.”
FTB will submit a press release later this month announcing the partnership. CTEC and FTB will work together during the 2018 tax season to warn California taxpayers about ghost tax preparers through media relations and social media.
In addition to the partnership, CTEC will post billboards and bus signs throughout the Los Angeles market in English, Spanish and Mandarin. All CTEC paid advertisements will promote its microsite - ReportTaxPreparerFraud.org. The decision to advertise in Los Angeles is based on enforcement reports from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).
In addition to outdoor advertisements, Internet advertisements will run during the 2018 tax season to educate California taxpayers about ghost tax preparers and how to find a California approved tax preparer.
CTEC and FTB have also discussed expanding CTEC enforcement to include pursuing ghost tax preparers.
Comments
QUESTION: Can a CPA licensed in another state sign a California income tax return? Can they sign a CA-540NR for clients that live in another state? What about people with a California filing requirement who live in other countries? Like Kazakhstan, or Uruguay? I'm asking for a friend.
How do we get more funding to increase the ad campaign to spread the word about "ghost" preparers and predatory preparers? Many of the clients I take on are paying exorbitant fees by predatory preparers especially with our CA citizens that are un-documented for immigration purposes.
I ATTENDED TO ANDRADE AND SOLIS MULTISERVICES WHERE I WENT FOR A FEW YEARS AND CTEC LICENSED RETURN PREPARER MARIO RIVERA A166978 CHARGED ME FOR RETURN PREPARATION UPFRONT. I SOON RECEIVED A BANK CHECK WITH NINUS OVER 600 DOLLARS IN BANK/PREPARER FEES.