AHLSTARZ Tax and Accounting Service -- Numbers, Simplified.

Sacramento – Franchise Tax Board (FTB) today offered guidance to taxpayers who plan to hire a tax preparer for the 2009 filing season.

Taxpayers are cautioned to avoid tax preparers who:

* Claim they can get bigger refunds than other tax preparers.
* Delegate tax preparation work to someone with less experience or knowledge.
* Ask the taxpayer to sign a blank return, or sign a return in pencil.
* Base their fee on a percentage of the refund amount.
* Do not provide a copy of the tax return for the taxpayer’s records.