By Bernie Becker – 01/08/15 06:22 PM EST

Two Democratic tax writers released legislation Thursday giving the IRS broader authority to regulate tax return preparers.

Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.), a former chairman of the Finance Committee, and Ben Cardin (Md.) said the bill would protect taxpayers by ensuring that paid preparers were competent enough to do the job right.

“It’s bad enough that taxpayers have to navigate their way through an overly complex tax code, but worse that many also unknowingly rely on fraudulent or incompetent tax preparers to help with their returns,” Wyden said.

READ MORE: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/228979-dems-seek-more-authority-for-irs#sthash.QsuDq5sh.dpuf