On the recordMay 12, 2010
Last month most Americans filled out what is probably the most complicated and lengthy Federal income tax return in our history. Most everyone agrees that our Nation's tax system is totally flawed and in need of considerable reform. The Tax Code is so complex that more than 80 percent of individual taxpayers either use an accountant or a computer-based program to prepare their tax returns. The IRS estimates that Americans spend 6.6 billion hours and $194 billion each year to comply with a Tax Code that has far too many complicated provisions which require special paperwork and detailed record keeping. Our Tax Code has become more and more a complex, burdensome, and expensive drag on the economy which we can ill afford in the middle of a severe economic downturn. It also harms America's businesses' ability to compete in the global marketplace by discouraging saving, by discouraging investing, by discouraging risk taking. American workers are now asked to work for 3 full months to pay for their annual Federal, State, and local taxes. It is totally unacceptable to require already-stressed families to give up at least a quarter of their income to prop up an expanding Federal bureaucracy while everyone else is making significant sacrifices. Instead of searching for a way to provide tax relief to American households, some administration officials have proposed new tax schemes that will further burden small businesses and consumers.





