Subcommittee advances bill to create tax-aid certification for Board of Tax Practitioners

The General Government Subcommittee moved House Bill 2338 to the full Ways and Means committee with a due-pass recommendation on May 13, 2025, after staff described a proposal to authorize a new tax-aid certificate that would allow supervised assistants to help prepare tax returns.

The measure would authorize the Board of Tax Practitioners to issue a tax-aid certificate and set the initial application and annual renewal fees at $75 effective Jan. 1, 2026. The bill would allow tax aids to assist tax consultants in preparing returns under the supervision of licensed tax consultants and requires the Board of Tax Practitioners to adopt rules governing supervision, including conditions and limitations of the designation.

"The measure authorizes the Board of Tax practitioners to issue a new tax aid certificate," said Elipho, a staff member presenting the measure. Elipho told the subcommittee that, based on current licensure trends, the board estimates about 230 individuals will apply annually and that the new fee is estimated to generate roughly $25,875 in additional revenue in the 2025–27 biennium. The presenter said costs associated with the measure are anticipated to be minimal and that a fiscal impact statement was available to committee members.

Representative (Co-chair) asked for a motion; a committee member moved HB 2338 to the full committee with a due-pass recommendation. Representative Roeschke recorded a "no" during the roll call. The roll call recorded ayes from Representative Gompert, Representative Chai Chi, Representative Tran, Representative Smith and Senators Anderson, Manning and Gorsuch; the motion passed and the subcommittee designated Representative Tran to carry the measure to the House committee and Senator Manning to carry the Senate side.

Discussion in the session focused on the bill's scope and fee revenue estimate; no additional committee amendments or formal policy changes were proposed in the recorded discussion. The record shows staff described both the statutory authorization and the Board's forthcoming rulemaking responsibility but does not include committee direction to change bill language or fee amounts.

The bill will next appear before the full Ways and Means committee per the subcommittee's referral. The committee record does not show further public testimony on the measure during this work session.