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Totally agree. Really rich people don't do their own taxes. They have armies of professionals doing that for them. The professionals don't get the "overlooking" defense, and neither should the person hiring them.

Require the tax lawyers to formally sign off on the validity of the returns, and give them some form of liability or consequence if the dubious tax shelters they recommend turn out to be plain old tax cheatin'.

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CPAs absolutely have their license on the line and are required to validate and sign off on the returns that they prepare. They are liable for claims against the validity of the return.

Tax attorneys are different; they don't validate returns, they handle legalities around tax lawsuits and IRS negotiations. I don't think a tax attorney would generally be involved with preparing a return, except maybe for reviewing ultra-wealthy clients for potential legal consequences.

“Really rich people” are responsible for 25% of the problem here.

Also, tax lawyers already have this responsibility. Go look at all the tax shelter cases that go brought against the Big Four and associated law firms.

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