Few Fear An IRS Audit Anymore – This just isn’t true. Most people are so scared of getting into trouble with IRS that they intentionally overpay their taxes. I see it all the time.

Good letter to the editor in today’s Wall Street Journal

Why Must Tax System Be a Burdensome Fear?

It should be alarming to every beleaguered, taxpaying American that the IRS recently reported its accuracy rate in answering telephoned taxpayer inquiries fell to 76% so far this year from 84% two years ago (Tax Report, April 1). I suspect the reason is the increasing complexity and breadth of the Tax Code. This is the unintentional consequence of tinkering with tax law, while maintaining the empire and dominion of the IRS and the influence it wields in our lives.

Would we tolerate a 24% error rate by a surgeon? Would McDonald’s be in business today if errors were made in 24% of its orders? Of course not. Why is there not a plan to do away with a system of taxation that makes miserable the lives of honest Americans, fearing an audit and April 15 each year? How can Americans be expected to suffer a system in which we cannot be assured of securing correct information as we navigate our way through the tax maze?

Will we ever elect a president who not only talks a good game about being a friend to the taxpayer, but who places his or her words into deeds, exerting political capital to end a system of tax law that even its administrators can’t comprehend and interpret?

Oren M. Spiegler

Upper Saint Clair, Pa.

The Blue-State Tax – A new name for the insipidly ridiculous AMT.

Nearly 1 million signatures for new phone tax in the PRC

The Deadly Third Rail of Politics – Social Security

The FICA slush fund

Proving personal accounts work

Why Housing Is About to Go “Pop!” – It is true that the historically low mortgage interest rates have helped pump up demand and prices of real estate. As has happened before, this will reverse when interest rates rise and fewer people can afford to make their payments. It’s a natural cycle and doesn’t mean that real estate is a bad investment; just that you need to take it into account and not overpay for properties that are too sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.