As noted by Christian et al. (1993) and Roth et al. (1989), one of the most promising areas to improve tax compliance is understanding the preparer/client relationship. The role of tax preparers and taxpayers is extremely important. Prior research is unclear as to the role preparers play in the tax compliance process. A study provides exploratory evidence concerning the role in compliance of tax preparers as compared to taxpayers. Specifically, the equity perceptions, aggressiveness, and consensus are compared between a sample of taxpayers and tax preparers. The study found: 1. Taxpayers had significantly lower equity perceptions of the tax system than did the tax preparers. 2. The taxpayers were significantly more aggressive (especially in tax due/underwithheld situations) than the preparers on the same ambiguous tax issues. 3. The preparers, as a group, exhibited a significantly higher degree of consensus than the taxpayers.