Is taking a percentage of tax refund a normal thing for an account?

[jariel]

Awhile back when I was asking my friends if they had a tax accountant, and what they charged, one of my friends said that his accountant takes 20% of their tax refund as their fee.

I didn’t think much of it at the time, but came across this post, where everyone saying it was unethical (maybe illegal.)

https://www.reddit.com/r/tax/s/kV9tabMyei

So I was wondering if this practice is more common out here, or actually still shady.

 

[reflectionsbythewater]

@jariel It's extremely shady, especially considering that a lot of people who have to file a tax return end up owing, not getting a refund.