Varley Law Office PLC

Varley Law Office PLC
201 NE 2nd ST, Stuart, Iowa 50250; (515) 523-2456

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Monday, August 30, 2010

Our Complicated Tax Code

If you wonder why I sometimes have a bewildered look when you ask a tax question, here is a clue: In her 2008 Annual Report to Congress, the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, complained about the Tax Code’s complexity including (among many other examples) “at least 16 separate incentives to encourage taxpayers to save for retirement. These incentives are subject to different sets of rules governing eligibility, contribution limits, taxation of contributions and distributions.” She also criticized the constant changes, pointing out that amendments to the Tax Code were made at the rate of more than one per day in the five years from 2003–2008. Read her report: http://www.irs.gov/advocate/article/0,,id=202276,00.html [Vol. 11, No. 1 Choate’s Notes Spring 2009]

I don't have very much good to say about the Reagan Administration. If you want to see where our federal debt trouble began look there. However, one of the things it got right was the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. It closed a lot of loopholes and greatly simplified our income tax. It was far from perfect, but it was a great leap forward. Since then, we have lost a lot of ground.

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