TAXES
Congress introduces bill to regulate tax preparers
Two Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to require professional tax preparers to undergo examinations, take annual continuing education classes and submit to a background check.
The Tax Return Preparer Competency Act, introduced by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., and Pat Meehan, R-Pa., aims to reduce tax preparer fraud. Black and Meehan pointed to the IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams for 2015, which warns of “dishonest preparers who set up shop each filing season to perpetrate refund fraud, identity theft and other scams that hurt taxpayers.”
They noted that tax preparer fraud raises particular concerns for the earned income tax credit. A Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report found the IRS may have issued more than $15 billion in improper EITC payments in 2013 alone. The National Taxpayer Advocate estimated that more than 76 percent of preparers who filled out returns claiming the EITC did not have a professional credential.
The IRS tried to require continuing education and competency examinations for tax preparers in its Registered Tax Return Preparer program. But a federal court in 2013 invalidated the program, ruling in the case of Loving v. IRS that the IRS had exceeded its statutory authority. A federal appeals court later upheld the ruling. – Joana Suleiman
DRUGS
Medical marijuana maker sets its sights on FDA
In a move that could make a patented cannabis drug legal in all 50 states, medical marijuana maker Vireo wants to make non-smokeable drugs with clinically reliable potency that can be tested in controlled studies at an academic medical center. The data would support an application for approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
Each day, 46 people die from an overdose of prescription painkillers in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vireo wants to provide an alternative to the millions of people who need pain medication. However, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning that it is highly addictive and has no accepted medical use. Either Congress, the FDA, or the Obama administration would have to take a step like moving it down to Schedule 2, which includes addictive drugs that do have medical uses.
The FDA says more information is needed on the efficacy of using marijuana to treat conditions like glaucoma, AIDS wasting syndrome, chronic nerve pain and multiple sclerosis. Although the FDA’s website says it has never approved a product containing natural marijuana, the agency has approved two older drugs, Valeant’s Cesamet and AbbVie’s Marinol, which are man-made forms of cannabis that can treat severe nausea from cancer chemotherapy. – Joana Suleiman
ENVIRONMENT
USDA gives thumbs up to Frankencorn
The Agriculture Department says genetically engineered corn is risk-free to the environment and no longer needs to be regulated.
The agency concluded that agribusiness giant Monsanto’s MON 87403 strain of corn “is no longer considered a regulated article under our regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms.” The agency published its designation in the Federal Register.
Monsanto has been under increased scrutiny by activists and others who see its genetically engineered corn as a threat to the environment and indigenous strains of crops, as well as to humans. But the U.S. government sees otherwise. It said in the Register that it found “no significant impact.”
The USDA said it evaluated data submitted by Monsanto, other available scientific data and public comments. – John Siciliano
EDUCATION
Which U.S. cities do school choice best?
New Orleans is the best city in the United States for school choice, according to a report published by the conservative Fordham Institute on December 9.
Political support for school choice in New Orleans is unremarkable, but the Big Easy ranks first and second nationwide for its policy environment and the quantity and quality of school choices.
Overall, Washington, D.C. ranks second, followed by Denver. Nearly 37,000 of the District’s 83,000 public school students attend charter schools. Thanks to a strong charter community and a private school tuition scholarship program, D.C. has the best quantity and quality of school choice in the nation.
The country’s largest cities all rank in the middle third in terms of their overall scores. New York City is 12th, Los Angeles is 15th, Chicago is 11th, and Houston is 19th. New York is boosted by its open enrollment high school program and several high-performing magnet and charter schools. Hostility from Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, means that political support for school choice in New York is among the weakest in the nation.
According to the report, the worst city for school choice is Albany, N.Y., followed by Austin, Texas. – Jason Russell
