The money line;
“Because the U.S. tax system is trying to do more than collect taxes, according to experts. Congress uses the tax system as a tool to achieve economic and social goals and then relies on a beleaguered IRS to execute those plans.”
The IRS and the tax code should be used to collect revenue. Full Stop!
I agree with your comment, but so long as a large group of legislators continue to bellow that we all are not paying our share, without ever defining what everyone’s share is and how they concluded that, nothing will be done. Plus, there is a ton of lobbying money spent by the tax software and tax preparation industry, to keep the process more complicated than it needs to be.
But, I also continue to be amazed by the number of people with relatively simple tax returns that use a preparer or software to prepare their taxes. There is no reason that all taxpayers should not be able to efile directly with the IRS. The recent IRS funding bill included money to study establishing an efile system with the IRS. That money was to pay for an independent review, but there are concerns about the independence of the group chosen.
I have heard that many times and I believe it. My brother was an accountant and he always said they designed the tax code to require an accountant.
You just pinpointed the problem.
I have talked a lot about a Constitutional Convention.
One of the biggest things on my wishlist would be an amendment to destroy the tax code and start over. With any changes only capable of being made with a 2/3 vote by both houses.