Another Testament to the Sorry State of the Current US Tax Code

Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, noted in Sunday’s edition of the Washington Post (April 16, 2006): “After winning control of Congress in 1994, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) called for fundamental tax reform, saying the tax code was ‘overly complex’ and ‘indefensible.’  Virtually every GOP leader since then has echoed the call for reform, without ever coming close to delivering.  Since the mid-1990s, the number of pages of federal tax rules has soared by 64 percent, the hours Americans collectively spend complying with the tax code each year has surpassed 6 billion, and the annual cost of complying has more than doubled to $265 billion.  The only winners: tax lawyers and accountants.  H&R Block has tripled its revenue since 1995 as the share of taxpayers needing professional expertise has grown.  Middle-class households are struggling through the thicket of tax rules related to children, home ownership and retirement plans, while even low-income families need outside help to figure out all the special tax benefits that apply to them.”