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DON'T HATE ME FOR RENT-SEEKING

February 24, 2006

The Tax Policy Blog says I have only myself to blame for the awfulness of the tax law. A post from yesterday says accountants are "bashing" the results of an IRS studay of the costs of doing tax returns.

It is no surprise that the various industries that only exists because of the complexity of the tax code would come out bashing this study. And it's no surprise that these same groups have also helped lead the fight against fundamental tax reform.

With true tax reform, the need for computer programs and tax accountants to calculate everyone's taxes would be reduced dramatically.

That's the nice thing about my job - I can make a living off of the complexity I despise. Maybe it's akin to the feeling a divorced spouse gets from a monthly check from a loathed "ex." I really am for great simplification of the tax code, if not every bad idea for tax reform, and I think a walk through the archives here shows that. Yet I go to sleep with the serene knowledge I will have work to do the next day becuase there is little chance of our legislators fixing anytime soon, and if they do, the transition rules should provide for a comfortable retirement anyway.

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