In a new Mercatus Center study, "The Hidden Costs of Tax Compliance," we document the costs and implications of the grossly complex U.S. tax system.
The Treasury forgoes approximately $450 billion per year in unreported taxes. Worse, Americans face up to nearly $1 trillion annually in hidden tax-compliance costs. And according to the IRS, taxpayers spent more than six billion hours in 2011 complying with the tax code – that's enough to create an annual workforce of 3.4 million people. If that workforce was a city, it would be the third largest city in the United States. If that workforce was a company, it would employ more individuals than Walmart, IBM, and McDonalds, combined.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blog.../05/28/the-complex-tax-code-hurts-the-economy
The problem, this has gotten much more expensive since this article was written.
We find that for those filing their personal income taxes on 15 April 2014, they must comply with the terms of a tax code that takes 73,954 pages to explain. To tax professionals.
- 2014: How Many Pages in the U.S. Tax Code?
On top of the typical compliance costs, tax preparers are now giving instant refunds to the poor and middle class for additional fees of course.
Discuss
.
The Treasury forgoes approximately $450 billion per year in unreported taxes. Worse, Americans face up to nearly $1 trillion annually in hidden tax-compliance costs. And according to the IRS, taxpayers spent more than six billion hours in 2011 complying with the tax code – that's enough to create an annual workforce of 3.4 million people. If that workforce was a city, it would be the third largest city in the United States. If that workforce was a company, it would employ more individuals than Walmart, IBM, and McDonalds, combined.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blog.../05/28/the-complex-tax-code-hurts-the-economy
The problem, this has gotten much more expensive since this article was written.
We find that for those filing their personal income taxes on 15 April 2014, they must comply with the terms of a tax code that takes 73,954 pages to explain. To tax professionals.
- 2014: How Many Pages in the U.S. Tax Code?
On top of the typical compliance costs, tax preparers are now giving instant refunds to the poor and middle class for additional fees of course.
Discuss
.