WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Two certified public accountants have filed a class action lawsuit against the United States, claiming the Internal Revenue Service’s regulations requiring tax preparers to pay annual fees to the agency.

Adam Steele and Brittany Montrois claim as certified public accountants, they are required to register and pay annual fees to the IRS to renew a preparer tax identification number to be placed on tax returns prepared by tax return repairers for others for compensation and to prohibit the U.S. Treasury Department from charging such fees in the future, according to a complaint filed Sept. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.