Subject: Simply the tax code Comment: Every spring we read in the newspapers that the IRS has sent out information on a ficticious family to a number of IRS agents aroung the country with instructions to prepare a tax return for this family so that there tax liability is as low as possible. Every year the agents all come out with different final results. If the people who administer the code and who are supposed to be the experts cannot come to the same results, how can the average taxpayer feel confident he or she is completing their return properly? Under the current law, if an IRS employee gives a taxpayer incorrect advice and the taxpayer relies on that advice, the taxpayer is still liable for any and all errors, including interest and penalties. The tax code should be simple enough that the people who administer the code can understnad it and give consistently correct advice. It is a basic principle of American jurisprudence that a person is innocent until proven otherwise. When the IRS claims a taxpayer has made an error or filed an improper return, the burden of proof should be on ORS as the accuser, not the taxpayer as the defnedant. The tax code should be fair on all taxpayers. High income taxpayers now find many exemptions and loopholes because of the unfair burden the tax code places on them. A flat tax, where everyone pays the same rate, would be the fairest tax system. Above all, the tax code should be written in lnaguage that the average person can understand. Most other federal materials are produced in a simple format that a person with a high school education can understand. The tax code should not be an exception to this rule. |