Anybody that thinks no regulation is needed should look no further than this place.  I've been around here since dirt and to be honest, I would put more faith in having some of that dirt prepare my tax return than some of the folks that have posted questions here.  Some of those preparers are just green and are looking for a little help but some of the other preparers are just plain dangerous.  A barber needs a license to cut hair but they don't need anything other than some blank forms or a computer to go crank out tax returns in their spare time.