Internal Revenue Code §7216 is a criminal provision enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1971 that prohibits preparers of tax returns from knowingly or recklessly disclosing or using tax return information. A convicted preparer may be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year or both, for each violation. The Secretary of Treasury is permitted to grant exceptions to this general prohibition by issuing regulations. Treas. Reg. §301.7216 had been substantially unchanged for over 30 years and did not address the modern return preparation marketplace, particularly electronic filing and the cross-marketing of financial and commercial products and services during the return preparation experience. Final Treasury Regulations on rules and consent requirements relating to the disclosure or use of tax return information by tax return preparers became effective Dec. 28, 2012.