[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 39 (Thursday, April 11, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H1205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SIMPLIFY OUR TAX CODE

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Once again, Mr. Speaker, April 15, tax day, is just a 
weekend away; and too many Americans spend too much time and too much 
money preparing and paying their taxes. The estimated preparation time 
for an IRS 1040 form now is right at 13 hours and 27 minutes, and those 
unfortunate taxpayers who need to itemize their deductions will be 
devoting an additional 5\1/2\ hours in preparing their tax forms.
  It is obvious, Mr. Speaker, that our Tax Code is too complex and 
places too great a burden on our hard-working families. Too many 
Americans, over 67 million filers, spend millions of dollars employing 
professional tax preparers just to wade through the Tax Code; and it is 
pretty tough to wade through 2.8 million words of our Tax Code. Even 
the book ``War and Peace'' is a quicker read at 660,000 words.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to simplify our Tax Code. It is the fair 
solution to such a taxing problem for every American.

                          ____________________