AICPA tells congress to restrict tax strategy patents.

Having considered the issue for several months, the AICPA has urged Congress to restrict the issuance of patents for tax strategies. The Institute last month sent a paper outlining its concerns about tax strategy patents to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees.

In its cover letters to the committees, the AICPA wrote, "... Patents granted for tax strategies are contrary to sound public policy because they undermine the integrity, fairness and administrability of the tax system ... The conflict with Congressional intent highlights a serious policy reason against allowing patent protection for interpreting the law. Allowing patents on strategies for complying with any law or regulation is not sound public policy because it creates an exclusivity on interpreting the...