In Georgia, is it fair that the professional landscaper reimagining your backyard may need three separate licenses to do the work but not the woman who does your taxes?

It's an issue that played out earlier this year when state officials launched one of the largest tax preparation fraud investigations in Georgia history. Despite calls by consumer advocates, tax preparers in Georgia do not need to be professionally licensed to work here.

And some of the state’s top officials say they don’t think that needs to change.

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Georgia Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox, angry about an article, burns a copy of The Atlanta Constitution in the state Senate on March 10, 1971, saying the paper did not have the "guts, integrity, manhood or decency" to report the situation accurately. (AJC file)

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC