U.S. tax code longer than the Bible -- and without the good news

WASHINGTON -- Too intimidated to fill out your tax return without help? Join the club.

At nearly 4 million words, the U.S. tax law is so thick and complicated that businesses and individuals spend more than 6 billion hours a year complying with filing requirements, according to a report Wednesday by an independent government watchdog.

That's the equivalent of 3 million people working full-time, year-round.

"If tax compliance were an industry, it would be one of the largest in the United States," says the report by Nina E. Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate.

The days of most taxpayers sitting down with a pencil and a calculator to figure out their taxes are long gone, Olson said. Since 2001, Congress has made almost 5,000 changes to U.S. tax law. That's an average of more than one a day.


As a result, almost 60 percent of filers will pay someone to prepare their tax returns this spring. An additional 30 percent will use commercial software. Without the help, Olson says, most taxpayers would be lost.

"On the one hand, taxpayers who honestly seek to comply with the law often make inadvertent errors, causing them to either overpay their tax or become subject to IRS enforcement action for mistaken underpayments," Olson said. "On the other hand, sophisticated taxpayers often find loopholes that enable them to reduce or eliminate their tax liabilities."

Olson ranks complexity as the most serious tax problem facing taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service in her annual report to Congress. She urges lawmakers to overhaul the nation's tax laws, making them simpler, clearer and easier to comply with.

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The days of most taxpayers sitting down with a pencil and a calculator to figure out their taxes are long gone, Olson said. Since 2001, Congress has made almost 5,000 changes to U.S. tax law. That's an average of more than one a day.

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And people wonder why Congress is liked less than cockroaches.

Quote: steph wrote in post #2

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The days of most taxpayers sitting down with a pencil and a calculator to figure out their taxes are long gone, Olson said. Since 2001, Congress has made almost 5,000 changes to U.S. tax law. That's an average of more than one a day.

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And people wonder why Congress is liked less than cockroaches.

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Doesn't affect congress much .. 'their' income (most) is non reported!

Heck so many of the congress critters are just stupid.

nine, nine, nine

In my young dumb years, I studied the tax code, today no one really knows what is in it. But as a fact, the lady was right, rich people do not pay taxes. But they have the money to buy a congress critter.

Quote: nerd wrote in post #6

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In my young dumb years, I studied the tax code,

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Bs degree, accounting. Was one of my majors. No I never worked as an accountant except for myself. Last accounting course I took was governmental fund accounting otherwise know as lala land accounting. MBA program course.

Quote: nerd wrote in post #8

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Bs degree, accounting. Was one of my majors. No I never worked as an accountant except for myself. Last accounting course I took was governmental fund accounting otherwise know as lala land accounting. MBA program course.

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Quote: W-Girl wrote in post #10

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Quote: nerd wrote in post #8

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Bs degree, accounting. Was one of my majors. No I never worked as an accountant except for myself. Last accounting course I took was governmental fund accounting otherwise know as lala land accounting. MBA program course.

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Thanks for responding. Do you know that despite the "governmental accounting" that they teach in school ....the USA government has NO BOOKS !!

The problem with the US Tax Code is all the "temporary" changes that they make - especially in the last 4 years. You find tax changes tacked on to every stupid unrelated legislation that they pass today (all initiated by certain lobby groups to benefit a few). I confess, I know first hand, because I was involved and worked hard to make one happen (but mine was a good one -no really it was - lol) !!

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Quote: nerd wrote in post #11

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All those temporary changes are the rich buying a congress critter and they writ a law for his deduction. Had a lady friend that worked at the irs she could tell some wild stories about the place.

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