On Eve of Lame-Duck Session, GOP Looking Ahead to Tax Reform

Budget Issues Hamstring Modernization, IRS Officials Say

A Flatly Simple Plan – While a flat rate tax system would be somewhat simpler than the current “progressive” structure, there would still be a lot of games to play in arriving at the taxable income figure; so that would definitely leave plenty of work for us tax pros.

Federal Court Halts Bogus Trust Tax Evasion Scheme In Texas

A new twist to your tax bill? – More on the idea of a national sales tax to replace the income tax.

Reship of Fools – People are falling for this new work at home scam.  It’s not surprising, considering how many people actually voted for John Kerry.

Dead end for rebates – While at first glance, sending property tax rebates to dead people seems like a typical government screw-up, I don’t see it that way.  A person’s estate, and thus his heirs, is just as entitled to a refund of overpaid expenses as is a living person.  When a person passes away, some of the assets left behind often include receivables that will be collected after death. 

Is it impossible for Bush to work on reforming both the income tax and Social Security systems during his second term?  Bruce Bartlett thinks it should be one or the other; because tackling both would be biting off too much.  I disagree; but everyone is entitled to their opinion.  If Bush and the GOP rulers in the Congress can focus and stop trying to kiss up to the DemonRats, I don’t see why working on both issues isn’t possible over the next four years.

None of which we advise, except perhaps for the mentally challenged anonymous person who has been leaving obscene late night messages on our answering machine about how he has an IRS book that states that nobody is required to pay taxes.  

Norwegian Mistakenly Burns Cash for Heat

Beavers Weave Stolen Cash Into Dam 

Tax to Encourage Savings Holds Promise – Now that the issue of tax reform is open for discussion, what we will be seeing are literally dozens of different proposals for revamping the current insane system we have.  What always happens at the end of these debates is that this creates too much of a divide among opponents of the current system, with not enough support for any single alternative.  This leaves us with people deciding that it’s best to stick with the devil we know rather than take a chance on a new concept, such as a national sales tax to replace the income tax. 

As crazy as it sounds, there are huge constituencies that love the current tax system and are scared to death of any radical changes in it.  They know the fundamental rule of effective salesmanship is to only provide customers with a few options from which to choose.  Any more than that and their brains will fry and they will back away from making any decision. Opponents of changing the tax system have long used this technique – tossing out dozens of different options – in order to scare away support for leaving the perceived security of the status quo.   

I hope I’m wrong; but we’ve been down this road so many times – with the exact same result – that it’s impossible not to be so skeptical of ever seeing any fundamental change in the tax code that has become so entrenched in our society.