COMMENT: Unhappy Birthday.
Dear A-Letter Reader:
October marks the 90th anniversary of the US federal income tax adopted
in 1913. The original tax law was just 400 pages. Today the US Tax Code
requires 50,000 pages, plus thousands more pages of regulations and
court decisions.
Putting aside arguments about the legality of the the income tax, and
even the continuing debate about how much tax should be paid, there are
far more serious problems with the US tax system and the despotic way
in which it is enforced.
Daniel J. Mitchell of the Heritage Foundation notes: "The IRS is the
most feared government agency with good reason. Americans who run
afoul of this bureaucratic behemoth have little chance of surviving
unscathed. This is because the rules are rigged against taxpayers. We
have to provide information to the IRS, even though the Bill of Rights
supposedly protects us from self-incrimination. We're guilty until we
prove ourselves innocent, even though our Constitution, at least, in
theory, guarantees a presumption of innocence."
Add to these constitutional issues, the IRS record of wholesale
fishing expeditions without probable cause as they chase sham trusts,
"abusive" tax shelters and offshore credit card holders. Most recently
the IRS has attacked lawyer-client confidentiality, trying to force tax
attorneys to reveal advice given to clients.
With all this, this massive agency is run like a third world
dictatorship, with scrambled, conflicting computer systems and
bureaucrats who can't answer questions correctly more than half the
time. Millions of dollars are wasted, and yet the only IRS response
is 'we need more money, more employees, more power.'
What's really needed is a major overhaul of the tinker toy tax system
and replacement with a no frills flat tax. But that requires a degree of
political courage that US politicians seem to lack. In the meantime,
taxpaying Americans will continue to suffer.
That's the way that it looks from here.
Bob Bauman, Editor
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COMMENT LINKS:
* The IRS vs. The Bill Of Rights. Dan Mitchell. LINK:
heritage.org
* Constant Change: A History of US Federal Taxes
LINK: jec.senate.gov
* US Income Tax Celebrates 90th Birthday.
LINK: tax-news.com
* How the US Tax Code hurts American companies. Dan Mitchell.
LINK: heritage.org
* Former Commissioner Says IRS Needs More Money.
LINK: tax-news.com |
