[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MAKING TAXES UNDERSTANDABLE

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, this year, millions of Americans will buy 
new cars. We will go on to car lots and select cars of our choice, and 
be told how much they cost.
  But think about it for a minute, how complicated it must be to price 
a car; tires, computer systems, the radios and speaker systems and 
bumpers. And then there are the labor costs involved in it, and the 
liability for the insurance, and the utilities for the factory.
  It is indeed a very, very complicated process to bring a car to your 
lot nearest to you in your hometown and say that car costs $31,286. It 
is a miracle of the capitalist system.
  Now think in terms of what it is to pay your taxes. Have you paid 
your taxes yet? Probably not. Why not? Because it is too complicated. 
You know it is going to take hours and hours. You will have to 
sacrifice two or three evenings of your busy schedule, all to figure 
out what you owe Uncle Sam.
  Why can the IRS not take a lesson from the motor companies and the 
private sector and just have clarity and simplicity, so that when you 
and I go to pay our taxes on April 15th, even though we might not like 
the amount, at least we understand what it is?

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