(a) Any person who is qualified to practice law or public accountancy in this state, any person who has been granted active enrollment to practice before the Internal Revenue Service and who is qualified to prepare tax returns in this state or any person who is the authorized employee of a taxpayer and is regularly employed by the taxpayer in tax matters may represent the taxpayer before a tax court magistrate or the Department of Revenue in any conference or proceeding with respect to the administration of any tax.

(b) Any person who is licensed by the State Board of Tax Practitioners or who is exempt from such licensing requirement as provided for and limited by ORS 673.610 may represent a taxpayer before a tax court magistrate or the department in any conference or proceeding with respect to the administration of any tax on or measured by net income.

(c) Any shareholder of an S corporation, as defined in section 1361 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended and in effect on December 31, 2018, may represent the corporation in any proceeding before a tax court magistrate or the department in the same manner as if the shareholder were a partner and the S corporation were a partnership. The S corporation must designate in writing a tax matters shareholder authorized to represent the S corporation.

(d) An individual who is licensed as a real estate broker or principal real estate broker under ORS 696.022 or is a state certified appraiser or state licensed appraiser under ORS 674.310 or is a registered appraiser under ORS 308.010 may represent a taxpayer before a tax court magistrate or the department in any conference or proceeding with respect to the administration of any ad valorem property tax.

(e) A general partner who has been designated by members of a partnership as their tax matters partner under ORS 305.242 may represent those partners in any conference or proceeding with respect to the administration of any tax on or measured by net income.

(f) Any person authorized under rules adopted by the department may represent a taxpayer before the department in any conference or proceeding with respect to any tax. Rules adopted under this paragraph, to the extent feasible, shall be consistent with federal law that governs representation before the Internal Revenue Service, as federal law is amended and in effect on December 31, 2018.

(g) Any person authorized under rules adopted by the tax court may represent a taxpayer in a proceeding before a tax court magistrate.

(2) A person may not be recognized as representing a taxpayer pursuant to this section unless there is first filed with the magistrate or department a written authorization, or unless it appears to the satisfaction of the magistrate or department that the representative does in fact have authority to represent the taxpayer. A person recognized as an authorized representative under rules or procedures adopted by the tax court shall be considered an authorized representative by the department.

(3) A taxpayer represented by someone other than an attorney is bound by all things done by the authorized representative, and may not thereafter claim any proceeding was legally defective because the taxpayer was not represented by an attorney.

(4) Prior to the holding of a conference or proceeding before the tax court magistrate or department, written notice shall be given by the magistrate or department to the taxpayer of the provisions of subsection (3) of this section. [1969 c.97 §1; 1973 c.681 §3; 1979 c.596 §1; 1985 c.761 §40; 1985 c.802 §35; 1987 c.468 §6; 1989 c.414 §3; 1991 c.5 §19; 1995 c.79 §106; 1995 c.556 §30; 1995 c.650 §12; 1997 c.839 §41; 1999 c.90 §28; 1999 c.224 §4; 1999 c.322 §36; 2001 c.300 §59; 2001 c.660 §23; 2003 c.46 §4; 2003 c.77 §1; 2003 c.704 §14a; 2005 c.345 §4; 2005 c.346 §1; 2005 c.832 §13; 2007 c.319 §28; 2007 c.614 §1; 2008 c.45 §1; 2009 c.5 §11; 2009 c.909 §11; 2010 c.82 §11; 2011 c.7 §11; 2012 c.31 §11; 2013 c.377 §11; 2014 c.52 §11; 2015 c.442 §11; 2016 c.33 §12; 2017 c.527 §13; 2018 c.101 §13; 2019 c.319 §13]