Subject: Tax Reform Comment: I personally, as one individual, waste at least 100 hours each year complying with the tax code for my husband's business, our joint tax return and our children's tax returns. Two years ago, one of my husband's staff members, her accountant brother, my accountant, and myself spent at least 30 hours between us just figuring out the child credit for a business, a staff member, and the employer!! The government doesn't get any more tax for all the time spent--it would actually get much more tax if we were all spending our time productively making money, then spending it, and being taxed on our purchases. As long as you keep the income tax, this situation will never change. You may simplify the tax code for a little while--as Reagan & Congress did in 1986--but the Congress will just turn around and complicate it again. The income tax is a nightmare!! The 16th Amendment should be repealed, the IRS abolished, and the Fair Tax enacted. We should NOT have a flat tax (which Congress will just make more complicated); we should NOT have a VAT; and we should NOT have an income tax. The way to free up the productivity of the American people is with a simple-to-administer Fair Tax. The government will get the money it needs, and the people will be able to spend their time in useful, productive activities. Sincerely, Lucy Cole |