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Atticus, I do think that the consumption tax would be the fairest, just as the Founding Fathers did. While it is true that the rich do not spend all their money on consumption, what they do with the rest of it is really the important part, as that is what they INVEST, creating jobs and new products for the rest of us. From the very beginning of 'civilization', when mankind figured out how to become farmers, and thus produce more than just what was needed to feed them for a day or a week, it's been the ability to have some 'extra' to save and invest that has allowed us to afford to spend time on education, art, invention, scientific experimentation, etc. It's so sad that today, our children are being taught that 'profit' is somehow bad, or at least 'uncouth' or 'vulgar'.

"This is soooo inflamatory. Whatever you might think about the adoption credit and/or the refundable portion, it wasn't easy to obtain. Every single return with this credit was audited. Not exactly a low-risk opportunity for fraud. Most preparers complained how long it took for the returns to be processed, and the extreme amount of paperwork that had to be submitted. One of my new clients claimed the credit last year (I didn't prepare it), but I did see the audit report, where for a requested credit of $909, they could not find a reciept for $59. The credit was reduced by that amount." Well, as to the adoption credit, I do agree it's hard to get. Just had a call TODAY from a client who just finally got their refund from their 2010 return with the adoption credit! Maybe, tho, it's easier for the bogus filers to fake the papers than I found it to be for legit filers to get them from the state agencies. I know we had to send the IRS the same darn forms three times before they finally accepted that they had the forms they asked for. And of course, they waited months each time before asking for them again. Thank goodness the client has been with me for years, and continued to trust me when I kept telling her that 'yes, you are entitled to this credit, and yes, we have sent them what their own forms and letters tell us we needed to send, and yes, you will eventually get your refund'. It's hard to imagine that a new client would have been nearly as trusting, even tho I showed them clearly the rules in the IRS pub, stating what documentation is needed.

Ok, but you to start to prepare returns, you have to pass the test. You have a 'provisional' PTIN.