"Media reports about tax avoidance schemes seem to have a common thread: major accounting firms and law firms receiving huge fees for giving advice they know violates the spirit of the law, and may violate the letter of the law. These firms are well aware of the questionable legitimacy of the deals they are marketing. Consequently, they don't disclose their deals to the government, and they use techniques designed to avoid IRS discovery of their transactions.
"Our bill, the Tax Shelter Transparency Act, would impose stiff penalties on accounting firms, law firms and other tax practitioners that fail to disclose deals like the ones outlined by The New York Times, if the newspaper's report is accurate. By imposing a disclosure regime, our bill will help the IRS determine which tax avoidance techniques are legal and which are illegal. If the IRS doesn't know what's happening, it can't police cheating. Sunshine is the greatest disinfectant for a tax system sullied by illegal tax avoidance and evasion schemes."