A committee of the Internal Revenue Service wants all tax preparers who file at least 200 returns a year to file electronically.

The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee included the recommendation in its 2009 Annual Report to Congress.

The committee report called forcing tax-preparer e-filing “the single biggest opportunity” to reach the IRS goal of having 80% of returns filed electronically.

Congress would have to give the IRS the authority to require electronic filing by tax preparers.

If the mandate for tax preparers filing at least 200 returns a year were approved, an additional 16 million tax forms would be filed electronically, the report estimated.

David Williams, the IRS’ director of electronic tax administration, called moving from less paper filing to more electronic filing “a top priority.”

The committee also recommended that the IRS modernize its tax preparer e-services to help tax preparers better communicate with the agency and that the IRS and tax preparation industry collaborate to establish tax software standards.

The committee was established to provide feedback on the development and implementation of the Internal Revenue Service’s electronic tax administration strategy.