Increasing The Complexity Of The Tax Code Won't Solve The Problem

Jillian Bandes | May 13, 2010 8:46 AM

A new IRS regulation demands that businesses which bring in more than $10 million actually show the IRS how they're calculating what they owe. The IRS is apparently

trying to make it easier for themselves to figure out how to suck the most money they can out of highly-profitable businesses.

Specifically, it calls for "a schedule requiring certain business taxpayers to report uncertain tax positions on their tax returns," meaning that you have to show on paper how you came up with the figures for separate tax liabilities.

I'm really curious how the IRS plans to enforce this one. After all, what's to stop companies from simply saying they had no confusion about a given area of tax regulation? Won't reporting confusion get a little, uh, confusing for Uncle Sam to follow?

And why didn't the IRS ever consider simplifying the tax code so it's easier to comply with? That's the tax reform that Americans have been wanting for years, and it would solve this problem lickety-split.

HT: The Examiner