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Article: I want a simple tax code.(Commentary)(Op-Ed)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- August 5, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Tears came to my eyes when I saw my first French income tax form and realized that I was allowed a 30 percent deduction simply because I was a journalist. No extra forms. No receipts for expenses. No paperwork at all. I simply put down the number of my journalist's card and that was it.
This will seem strange to Americans, but in Europe an individual filing his yearly income tax returns is a non-event, a big nothing. The forms are simple, can be filled out in a matter of minutes, and people don't writhe and agonize over it -since Europeans don't have the endlessly complicated system of special deductions and credits, a system which the "historic" new accord ...