Chapter 9 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project The Day the Gloves Came Off–Recap You know what happened. You’ve seen the fragments—the denials, the vanished FAQ, the regulatory sleight-of-hand. But what you didn’t know—and what they now wish they hadn’t caused—was what came next. That was the day I gave up. Gave up… Read more

Chapter 8 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project They didn’t have to issue cease-and-desist letters. They didn’t have to file lawsuits. They didn’t have to knock on doors or summon anyone to court. All they had to do was imply. And it worked. Across the country, tax preparers walked away from Oregon clients.… Read more

Chapter 7 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project Regulatory authority is supposed to rest on law. On statute. On democratic process. But the OBTP? It built an empire on paper—paper that looked official, sounded authoritative, and operated on the assumption that no one would question it. FAQ blurbs. Internal memos. Unofficial, unadopted interpretations.… Read more

Chapter 6 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project The phrase “in this state” is the cornerstone of OBTP’s licensing theory—but it’s also the foundation of their hypocrisy. Because while they insist that anyone, anywhere who prepares an Oregon return is “in this state” for the purpose of licensure, that standard doesn’t apply to… Read more

Chapter 5 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project You know what’s worse than inventing a rule with no legal basis? Pretending it never existed. At some point in the OBTP’s quest to crown itself national licensure king, it decided to post a simple line on its website: “Anyone residing within the State of… Read more

Chapter 4 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project When the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners says that a tax preparer must be licensed “in this state,” they don’t mean what you think they mean. They don’t mean physically in Oregon. They don’t mean domiciled or doing business in Oregon. They don’t even mean… Read more

Chapter 3 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project If the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners built the wall, the Department of Justice sealed it. I requested fee waivers for multiple public record requests. And, as is true to their character, the OBTP’s denied them. I appealed the denial to the Attorney General’s office.… Read more

Chapter 2 of Licensed to Exploit: The OBTP Accountability Project The price of asking questions? $6,000. That’s what the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners told me it would cost to access records related to their unprecedented claim that out-of-state tax preparers must be licensed in Oregon. I had filed three separate public records requests—each asking… Read more

It started with a calm, reasonable question: Where’s the rule? On October 3, 2024, I asked the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners to show their work—meeting minutes, internal memos, anything that justified their claim that out-of-state tax preparers must be licensed in Oregon. Their response? Delay, deflection, and a denial of my fee waiver on… Read more