Tax overhaul: Looking to IRS scandal for momentum

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER

WASHINGTON (AP) - The storm engulfing the Internal Revenue Service could provide a boost for lawmakers who want to simplify U.S. tax laws - a code that is so complicated most Americans buy commercial software to help them or simply hire someone else to do it all.

Members of Congress from both political parties say the current uproar - over the targeting of conservative political groups - underscores that overly complex tax provisions have given the IRS too much discretion in interpreting and enforcing the law.

"This is the perfect example of why we need tax reform," said Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., a member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. "If you want to diminish and limit the power of the IRS, you have got to reduce the complexity of the tax code and take them out of it."

There are still formidable obstacles to completing a major tax overhaul this year or next. Democrats and Republicans start off with opposite views on whether the government should levy more taxes and on who should pay what share. The two sides also don't trust one another, making it difficult to envision agreement on which popular tax breaks to keep and which to scrap.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130528/DA6IGT180.html

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In this May 17, 2013 file photo, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. The storm engulfing the Internal Revenue Service over agents targeting conservative political groups could provide a much-needed boost to members of Congress working to simplify an outdated tax code that is so complicated most Americans hire someone fill out their returns. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. We need a tax overhaul to nab those hiding their money offshore

loopholes upon loopholes - amazing how the super rich have it made

[Kolesar]

7. David Cay Johnston discovered that multi-level corporate ownership enables tax cheating

They hide their profits in multiple levels of corporate subsidiaries. The IRS has no authority to pursue those multiple levels of ownership, so the tax fraud in those subcorporations is never discovered.

David Cay Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. He discussed his book on Bill Moyers' Journal in the previous decade.

Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich–and Cheat Everybody Else (2003) ISBN 1-59184-019-8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cay_Johnston#Writings

[SkyDaddy7]

8. This is just another example...

of the media, especially the AP, of bullshitting the public just because they are still crying about the DOJ investigation...When in reality this has NOTHING to do with the tax system & everything to do with election law!!

[DallasNE]

2. I Agree With Republican Griffin

When he says "If you want to diminish and limit the power of the IRS, you have got to reduce the complexity of the tax code and take them out of it.". The devil is in the details, however.

What I have been saying is that the FEC should determine what category an organization needs to apply under when there is an indication on some kind of political activity. The IRS would then just simply enforce the law. If an organization filed 501(c)(4) paperwork and the FEC ruled that they needed to re-file as a PAC then they would need to re-file as a PAC and those rules and laws would apply and be enforced by the IRS.

The other thing this points out is that many of the "loopholes" are there by the grace of IRS thanks to the "overly complex tax provisions (that) have given the IRS too much discretion in interpreting and enforcing the law". A prime example of that would be the 1959 interpretation that "exclusive" actually meant "over half but issue ads don't count".

[VPStoltz]

4. That's where I'm at: yes and no...

Yes, it's too complicated - it's meant to be to advantage of the wealthy. Only they can afford someone to decipher it.
No, the 501 c-f is basically clear - no politicing. The TeaBaggers had a history of abusing that status so they were put on watch. I see nothing wrong with that.

[mbperrin]

3. What's the problem with hiring an expert for taxes?

That's what I do to get my teeth fixed, my prescriptions renewed, my glasses made, my truck repaired, my landscaping fed and trimmed, my children educated, my clothes cleaned, and a host of other services.

AND preparation fees are 100% deductible, so they actually cost a net nothing.

AND why anyone thinks anyone was "targeted" was beyond me - 70 "conservative" groups got close examination, while 400 OTHER groups got the same close scrutiny. Not ONE was denied their exemption. This whole tempest is another attempt by my "betters" to pay even lower taxes than they already do.

[jmowreader]

9. Conservatives expect to be allowed to do anything they want

[freshwest]

5. It'll be used as a ruse to let the rich pay nothing. That's all this is.

[politicaljunkie41910]

10. Never let a good 'crisis' go to waste. Isn't that what the GOP is always citing Rahm Emanual on?

As if they needed an excuse to beat up on the IRS and try and dump the Tax Code in favor of a National Sales Tax, which they would subsequently use to further circumvent paying any taxes.