[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 80 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TAX CODE TERMINATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. RON PACKARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 17, 1998

  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3097, The 
Tax Code Termination Act. This bill will sunset the tax code by 2002 
and force policy makers in Washington to implement a fair replacement.
  April 15th should not be a day of anxiety and tension for our 
constituents. American businesses will spend 3.4 billion hours, and 
individuals will spend 1.7 billion hours, trying to comply with the tax 
code. That's equivalent to a staff of three million people working full 
time, year round, just on taxes. H.R. 3097 will hold Congress 
accountable for amending the code by December 31, 2002, just a short 
four years away.
  The horror stories my constituents have shared with me on simply 
filing their EZForm 1040 are ludicrous. The EZForm 1040 is the IRS' 
``simplest'' return, and yet it has 33 pages of instructions! Mr. 
Speaker, if the IRS has trouble understanding all the rules, subrules 
and instructions that go along with filing taxes, we cannot expect the 
American public to accomplish this without havoc and hassle.
  This complicated system has made it extraordinarily difficult for 
people to fill out their tax forms, often resulting in the costly 
process of going to an accountant to file. That means they must pay 
more money just to find out how much more money they owe in taxes! Tax 
simplification would ease the paperwork burden for average taxpayers 
while reducing the government's cost of administering and collecting 
taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, Washington created this problem and it is time 
Washington corrects it. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3097. We must 
end the IRS and its abominable tax code now.

                          ____________________