justincredible;1722453 wrote:I'll concede that the IRS is here to stay. I don't agree that it is necessary but I know it isn't going anywhere.
Do you believe that a 70k page tax code is acceptable? Do you believe that spending 6.1 billion hours annually as a nation preparing our taxes is a good use of time?
I think it's acceptable because it's necessary. 70k pages nor 6.1 billion hours aren't all anywhere close to exclusive to some 20yr old filling out their 1040EZ. You're looking at standard w2 income, short term capital gains, long term capital gains, flow through income, inheritances, gift tax, estates, trusts, c-corps, LLCs, s-corps, foreign bank account reporting, consolidated reporting, combined reporting, subs/affiliates, mergers/acquisitions. I can go on and on. There is a shit ton that needs to be covered thanks to complexity of business formations, various methods of income, fraud, incentives intended to protect the economy, etc.
As for the hours, who is spending the majority of the time preparing? Tax professionals. Sorry, if they dont have to deal with as many hours dealing wih tax compliance, they aren't going to be spending that other time curing world hunger. If we're talking individuals spending their own time during their taxes, for most people it will take 1 or 2 hours. Give me a break if spending a few hours a year preparing your tax returns is a huge inconvenience to you. Especially with the benefits that come from it for everybody.