A federal judge who blocked the regulation of nonattorney, uncertified preparers of tax returns refused to stay his injunction pending appeal.
     The Internal Revenue Service has long regulated lawyers, certified public accountants and other tax professional, but private, non-attorney tax preparers remained outside its statutory reach.
     This changed in 2011 when the IRS adopted new rules requiring such tax preparers to pass a qualifying exam, pay an annual application fee and take 15 hours of continuing-education courses each year.
     The regulations defined a tax-return preparer as a person who "prepares for compensation or who employees one or more persons to prepare for compensation, all or a substantial portion of any return of tax or any claim for refund of tax under the Internal Revenue Code."