Chapter 1 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project
It began, as many long fights do, not with outrage or defiance—but with a question.
On October 3, 2024, I submitted a pair of public records requests to the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners (OBTP). My aim was simple: to understand how the Board believed it had the authority to regulate out-of-state tax professionals. Specifically, I asked for rulemaking files, meeting minutes, internal communications—any documentation showing how the Board had arrived at its claim that a Utah-based tax preparer like me needed an Oregon license to file Oregon returns.
That’s it. Just a typed email. A formal request. A legal right.
Five days later, I received my reply.
“The Board is still processing your two requests… the records will also have to be reviewed by our attorney… We anticipate not being able to provide these documents to you within 10 days… We also need to advise you that the Board does not believe your request for records merits waiver of the fees…”
— Laura Kardokus, OBTP Executive Director, Oct. 7, 2024
They denied my fee waiver, claiming that “few enquiries [had been] received from other members of the public on this topic.” They cited their small staff. Their limited budget. Their overworked attorney.
But none of those are valid legal grounds under ORS 192.324(5). The statute says fee waivers are to be granted if the disclosure primarily benefits the general public—not if the agency finds it convenient, popular, or well-funded.
Apparently, in the OBTP’s view, a regulatory policy affecting every tax preparer across the country just didn’t qualify as “public” enough.
A Challenge Was Made
I pushed back—firmly, but politely. I cited the law. I pointed out the flaw in their logic. I told them: Please proceed despite the waiver denial. And I made clear that I would appeal under ORS 192.324(6).
Then came silence.
The Board missed their own 10-day statutory response window. No follow-up. No cost estimate. No partial production. No records at all.
And yet, I kept everything.
The emails. The deadlines. The missteps. The contradictions.
The Strategy of Inertia
There’s a rhythm to institutional avoidance. You ask a question. They delay. You challenge a denial. They change the topic. You invoke the law. They cite their calendar.
It’s not about rights—it’s about endurance.
But this was a fight I wasn’t going to walk away from. Not just because of principle, but because something didn’t add up. The agency charged with enforcing licensing rules had no rulemaking files, no meeting minutes, and no internal correspondence showing how it reached its expansive interpretation?
Or maybe it did. And it just didn’t want to share.
The Real Role of the OBTP
The Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners wasn’t created to regulate the nation. Its mission, at creation, was narrow and local: protect Oregon taxpayers from in-state bad actors. That’s what the statutes say. That’s what the legislative history confirms.
But somewhere along the way, that focus warped into something else.
Now, the Board claims it can regulate anyone, anywhere, so long as they touch an Oregon return. No clear rules. No legislative changes. No rulemaking. Just assertion.
That’s what I was trying to understand.
And that’s why they didn’t want to answer.