>>>http://www.cnbc.com/id/101568250
>>>
>>>
>>>This one stood out:
>>>
>>>
>>>>>The GAO surveyed taxpayer errors from 2006 through 2009 and found that tax returns prepared by preparers had a higher estimated percent of errors—60 percent—than self-prepared returns—50 percent.
>>
>>My guess would be that's because people who use paid preparers have more complex returns than people who did themselves. When you're filing 1040-EZ, there's not a lot of scope for mistakes. When your return is an inch thick like hours, there are a lot more opportunities to get something wrong.
>>
>>So, I guess I'd like to see those numbers adjusted for complexity.
>>
>>Tamar
>
>Still - 6 out of 10 wrong?
>Can you imagine a developer (houses or programs) who racked up those kind of numbers staying in business?

I know persones working in that business here. 6 out of 10 is pretty good. The problem is that preparers work mostly for people that do not deliver all information or not in time or doing there business in a way the preparer can not adjust. You have no idea what one can do wrong with invoices. Or have two chaines of business (for example a limited and a private business) running and mixing up who orders and who pays. Wages are the next problem. It's horror.

It's a bit like programming with a language that in itself is full of bugs on a comp with malfunctioning RAM in an environment with high probability of power failure. Not to mention customers that will never ask for advice but are full of ideas of your work.

Lutz