Posted: Apr 25, 2005 By: NULL

Comment: Eliminate Duplicate Forms - Eliminate Forms 1040A and 1040EZ and save the
government a ton of money in extra printing. All the separate instructions
for 1040A and 1040EZ would be eliminated. All the confusion about line
numbers being different on different forms would be eliminated. Have just
the one form - Form 1040.
We would all be on the same page - literally.

Take many of the lines on Form 1040 that are rarely used and make them
write-ins in the appropriate section. For example, many of the lines in the
adjustments to gross income and credits are rarely used, such as Educator
Expenses. Take them out and have an open line for write-ins for cases where
these rare items apply. If more than one type of item applies, a detailed
statement could be attached to the return.

You could assign a code to each type of item that is not shown on the form.
California already does this with credits on its income tax return - Form
540.
For example, if Educator Expenses were Code 54, the taxpayer would enter 54
and the amount.

Instead of starting with the current Form 1040 and eliminating lines, you
could take Form 1040A as the starting point and modify it to add the
necessary lines for the write-ins.

Submitted by
Howard Gordon
Certified Public Account
with 30 years of tax preparation experience