Let’s examine the case of Roger Ramirez, a tax return preparer who, over a three-year span, handled the tax returns of more than a thousand taxpayers by significantly inflating or entirely fabricating charitable donations and work-related expenses.

Although Ramirez was eventually apprehended and banned from practicing further, his story and the victimization of taxpayers are unfortunately common occurrences every tax season.

Indeed, numerous tax return preparers exploit the tax return filing process, deprive the Treasury of revenue, and erode taxpayers’ confidence in the system. Congress must promptly address the behaviors of Ramirez and other like-minded tax return preparers, which represent a threat to the tax system.

To provide context, individual taxpayers submit well over 150 million tax returns annually. Due to the intricacies of the tax code, taxpayers often seek advice from professionals, most of whom are knowledgeable and ethically sound, while a minority are not.

The data indicates a fuller picture. On one hand, there are around 300,000 tax return preparers regulated by professional bodies or the Treasury Department, such as accountants, lawyers, and enrolled agents. On the other hand, there are approximately 400,000 unregulated tax return preparers.

When it comes to tax return preparation, many taxpayers usually consult unregulated preparers for guidance. Why? Unregulated preparers typically charge lower fees than regulated ones, making them an appealing choice. Moreover, some cash-strapped taxpayers are enticed by the promises of unscrupulous preparers claiming significant tax refunds are on the horizon.

As a result, they unknowingly fall prey to dishonest tax return preparers or choose to turn a blind eye to the deceptions.

Although Congress has taken steps to curb rogue preparer behavior, like imposing penalties on those advocating unsound reporting practices, stories like Ramirez’s persist.

To address this issue, the Treasury Department mandated in 2011 that all paid tax return preparers obtain a Personal Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and use it on the returns they prepare.

The purpose of the PTIN requirement was to help the Treasury Department better identify rogue tax return preparers. However, these preparers evade detection by intentionally omitting their PTINs from the returns they handle, earning them the label “ghost preparers.”

An effective way for Congress to deter ghost preparers would be to criminalize the actions of those dishonest preparers who habitually fail to include their PTINs on prepared tax returns instead of using monetary penalties.

While this approach may seem strict, given the vulnerability of the nation’s low-income taxpayers to exploitation, and with the tax gap around $700 billion, as well as a $36 trillion national debt threatening solvency, stringent measures are essential to boost tax compliance.

Enforcing the proposed reform would not single-handedly solve financial problems, but it would have numerous benefits, including protecting vulnerable taxpayers from exploitation and preserving the nation’s finances.

Jay A. Soled serves as a prominent professor of Taxation at Rutgers Business School.