Study: Tax law is just too confusing

[Valin]

AP:

Stephen Ohlemacher

1/10/13

 

 

WASHINGTON - The nation's tax law is so thick and complicated that businesses and individuals spend more than six billion hours a year complying with filing requirements. That's the equivalent of three million people working full time year round.

 

As a result, about 90 percent of filers will either pay a tax preparer or use a computer software service to help with their federal tax returns this spring, according to a report Wednesday by an independent government watchdog.

 

"The existing tax code makes compliance difficult, requiring taxpayers to devote excessive time to preparing and filing their returns," says the report by Nina E. Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate. "It obscures comprehension, leaving many taxpayers unaware how their taxes are computed and what rate of tax they pay. It facilitates tax avoidance by enabling sophisticated taxpayers to reduce their tax liabilities, and provides criminals with opportunities to commit tax fraud."

 

The tax code also "undermines trust in the system," Olson said, "by creating an impression that many taxpayers are not compliant."

 

(Snip)

 

 

Freedom Works: Top Ten Reasons to Scrap the Code

[clearvision]

I would think the congress critters would be jumping at the chance to redo the tax code..... as a way to increase taxes but not do it so directly....