[Title 31 CFR 10.51]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 31 - MONEY AND FINANCE: TREASURY]
[Part 10 - PRACTICE BEFORE THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE]
[Subpart C - Rules Applicable to Disciplinary Proceedings]
[Sec. 10.51 - Disreputable conduct.]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


31MONEY AND FINANCE: TREASURY12002-07-012002-07-01false10.51Sec. 10.51MONEY AND FINANCE: TREASURYPRACTICE BEFORE THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICERules Applicable to Disciplinary Proceedings
Sec. 10.51  Disreputable conduct.

    Disreputable conduct for which an attorney, certified public 
accountant, enrolled agent, or enrolled actuary may be disbarred or 
suspended from practice before the Internal Revenue Service includes, 
but is not limited to:
    (a) Conviction of any criminal offense under the revenue laws of the 
United States, or of any offense involving dishonesty, or breach of 
trust.
    (b) Giving false or misleading information, or participating in any 
way in the giving of false or misleading information to the Department 
of the Treasury or any officer or employee thereof, or to any tribunal 
authorized to pass upon Federal tax matters, in connection with any 
matter pending or likely to be pending before them, knowing such 
information to be false or misleading. Facts or other matters contained 
in testimony, Federal tax returns, financial statements, applications 
for enrollment, affidavits, declarations, or any other document or 
statement, written or oral, are included in the term ``information.''
    (c) Solicitation of employment as prohibited under Sec. 10.30, the 
use of false or misleading representations with intent to deceive a 
client or prospective client in order to procure employment, or 
intimating that the practitioner is able improperly to obtain special 
consideration or action from the Internal Revenue Service or officer or 
employee thereof.
    (d) Willfully failing to make Federal tax return in violation of the 
revenue laws of the United States, or evading, attempting to evade, or 
participating in any way in evading or attempting to evade any Federal 
tax or payment thereof, knowingly counseling or suggesting to a client 
or prospective client an illegal plan to evade Federal taxes or payment 
thereof, or concealing assets of himself or another to evade Federal 
taxes or payment thereof.
    (e) Misappropriation of, or failure properly and promptly to remit 
funds received from a client for the purpose of payment of taxes or 
other obligations due the United States.
    (f) Directly or indirectly attempting to influence, or offering or 
agreeing to attempt to influence, the official action of any officer or 
employee of the Internal Revenue Service by the use of threats, false 
accusations, duress or coercion, by the offer of any special inducement 
or promise of advantage or by the bestowing of any gift, favor or thing 
of value.
    (g) Disbarment or suspension from practice as an attorney, certified 
public accountant, public accountant, or actuary by any duly constituted 
authority of any State, possession, territory, Commonwealth, the 
District of Columbia, any Federal court of record or any Federal agency, 
body or board.
    (h) Knowingly aiding and abetting another person to practice before 
the

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Internal Revenue Service during a period of suspension, disbarment, or 
ineligibility of such other person. Maintaining a partnership for the 
practice of law, accountancy, or other related professional service with 
a person who is under disbarment from practice before the Service shall 
be presumed to be a violation of this provision.
    (i) Contemptuous conduct in connection with practice before the 
Internal Revenue Service, including the use of abusive language, making 
false accusations and statements knowing them to be false, or 
circulating or publishing malicious or libelous matter.
    (j) Giving a false opinion, knowingly, recklessly, or through gross 
incompetence, including an opinion which is intentionally or recklessly 
misleading, or a pattern of providing incompetent opinions on questions 
arising under the Federal tax laws. False opinions described in this 
paragraph include those which reflect or result from a knowing 
misstatement of fact or law; from an assertion of a position known to be 
unwarranted under existing law; from counseling or assisting in conduct 
known to be illegal or fraudulent; from concealment of matters required 
by law to be revealed; or from conscious disregard of information 
indicating that material facts expressed in the tax opinion or offering 
material are false or misleading. For purposes of this paragraph, 
reckless conduct is a highly unreasonable omission or misrepresentation 
involving an extreme departure from the standards of ordinary care that 
a practitioner should observe under the circumstances. A pattern of 
conduct is a factor that will be taken into account in determining 
whether a practitioner acted knowingly, recklessly, or through gross 
incompetence. Gross incompetence includes conduct that reflects gross 
indifference, preparation which is grossly inadequate under the 
circumstances, and a consistent failure to perform obligations to the 
client.

(Sec. 3, 23 Stat. 258, secs. 2-12, 60 Stat. 237 et seq.; 5 U.S.C. 301; 
31 U.S.C. 330; 31 U.S.C. 321 (Reorg. Plan No. 26 of 1950, 15 FR 4935, 64 
Stat. 1280, 3 CFR, 1949-53 Comp., p. 1017))

[31 FR 10773, Aug. 13, 1966, as amended at 35 FR 13205, Aug. 19, 1970; 
42 FR 38353, July 28, 1977; 44 FR 4946, Jan. 24, 1979; 49 FR 6723, Feb. 
23, 1984; 57 FR 41095, Sept. 9, 1992; 59 FR 31528, June 20, 1994]