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Article: Sending tax code gentle into that good night
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- February 22, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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The tax code gets more complicated and unfair with each passing
year, and there is plenty of blame to go around. Both Republicans and
Democrats - as well as hundreds of interest groups - are constantly
manipulating the Internal Revenue Code.
Some of the changes to the tax code are the result of back-room
dealmaking, while others are straightforward attempts to reward
"good" behavior and punish "bad" behavior. The final result, however,
is an irrational tax system that defies understanding. What began in
1913 as a single two-page form backed up by 14 pages of law has
become a 17,000-page disgrace that requires 703 different forms. More
than seven times longer than the Bible, the tax code's ...