National Taxpayer Advocate Calls for Tax Reform

The National Taxpayer Advocate’s annual report to Congress, which was released recently, said the number one priority should be tax reform. The current system is too burdensome (as if taxpayers needed a report to tell them this). Data shows that individuals and businesses spend 6.1 billion hours each year complying with tax-filing requirements, and that 60% of all taxpayers need paid preparers to file returns for them. An additional 29% rely on commercial tax preparation software costing $50 or more.

The biggest roadblock to meaningful tax reform is not special interest groups, as is commonly believed. It is the vast majority of U.S. taxpayers who benefit from exclusions from income, tax deductions, and/or tax credits, which now total $1.1 trillion annually.

The National Taxpayer Advocate has set up a suggestion box at www.TaxpayerAdvocate.irs.gov that you can use to submit your ideas on tax reform. Disclosure of your name and e-mail address is optional.

Source: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=233959,00.html