Tom Daschle apparently "forgot" about several problems with his tax records - and ended up paying $128k+ in back taxes and fees.
It makes me think of an NPR story from 8-9 years ago - in which a reporter submitted her taxes to 10 different CPA's. Of course you already know the results - she received ten totally different results, with different taxes owed and very different exemptions.
And why is it that some people "get to amend" their returns - and others "go to jail." Why do we even jail tax evaders, really? Wouldn't it be better served to garnish wages or government benefits?
So in essence, are congressmen showing us that to "game" the system your best solution? Daschle certainly isn't the first - and I can't help but feel jilted when I patiently spend hours(days?) preparing my massive return (business, personal, and this year farm) to get it correct.
Yes, I've even made a couple of mistakes (wrong SSN number from illegible card, and a single dollar rounding error.. cost me over $250 in fees).
2 comments:
Bleah, taxes -- bleah, tax table!
Seriously, it's time for the tax law/code to get an overhaul. When the system is such a mess that people get lost in in the labyrinth, or are able to game the system for years without getting caught, there's a problem. Simplify it - make it so that normal people can do their taxes without gallons of Pepto-Bismal, and the elite can't get clever with the codes.
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