Our Income Tax Laws Are Too Complicated!
If you want proof our income tax laws are too complicated, just look at the instruction booklets. The “long form” 1040 instruction book has 206 pages (without any forms). The “short form” 1040A instruction book is 88 pages. The 1040EZ, a baby brother or sister of the short form, is a 42 page instruction book.
How much more proof do you need?
Reporting income and expenses should be easy enough for most people to be able to prepare their own returns and not have to seek professional assistance.
My suggestion to get a start on reducing the complexity of the Tax Code is for every member of the House of Representatives and Senate to prepare just one tax return manually. It doesn’t need to be their own (which is probably complicated) but can be a young relative or a friend’s child. That should give them an idea of the tax system’s unwieldiness and would be a start to have them realize the need for true change. A second suggestion is to have a bunch of tax preparers and CPAs serve on a committee to make recommendations to reform the tax system in a revenue neutral manner, i.e. sans politics.
Let’s start!
Meanwhile, don’t forget the April 15th deadline to get your returns filed (unless you request an extension)!
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