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| Rep. Adrian Smith |
Tax Day – April 15 – is quickly approaching and many Americans are still working to complete and file their 2013 tax returns. This year, I have heard from many Nebraskans not only about the complexity of the tax code, but also about concerns of being targeted for an audit, delay, or additional questioning because of political beliefs.
Individuals are concerned because they know the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeted political organizations with additional scrutiny, inappropriate questions, and delays when applying for tax-exempt status. As confirmed in the IRS Inspector General’s report, additional scrutiny was disproportionately applied to conservative organizations.
While my colleagues and I on the Ways and Means Committee continue to thoroughly investigate the agency’s conduct, this issue is not resolved. We have held numerous hearings and continue to review thousands of documents. All of the public documents in this case are now available online at: http://gop.gov/irs.
If you feel you have been unfairly treated or targeted by the IRS, or are having problems with this or any other federal agency, I encourage you to contact my office. As your representative in Washington, I am committed to helping you navigate the bureaucracy, cut through the red tape, and resolve problems. Each case is different, but in dealing with the IRS my office may be able to connect you with a taxpayer advocate, or contact the IRS to request more information or an update on your problem.
Many of the problems Nebraskans have with the IRS are a direct result of the immense complexity of the tax code – more than 10,000 pages of ever-changing rules. The code is so outdated and complicated nearly 90 percent of Americans choose to pay someone else to do their taxes or use commercial software. Tax compliance costs the American economy more than 6 billion hours and costs $168 billion annually in addition to actually paying the tax burden.
Simplifying the code would ease this burden on taxpayers, make our tax structure fairer, and be a significant boost to our economy. After years of work, dozens of hearings, and a series of bipartisan working groups, Ways and Means Chairman recently released a comprehensive draft tax reform proposal. This draft is intended to generate discussion and feedback and I hope you will take the time to review it at http://tax.house.gov
Individuals are concerned because they know the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeted political organizations with additional scrutiny, inappropriate questions, and delays when applying for tax-exempt status. As confirmed in the IRS Inspector General’s report, additional scrutiny was disproportionately applied to conservative organizations.
While my colleagues and I on the Ways and Means Committee continue to thoroughly investigate the agency’s conduct, this issue is not resolved. We have held numerous hearings and continue to review thousands of documents. All of the public documents in this case are now available online at: http://gop.gov/irs.
If you feel you have been unfairly treated or targeted by the IRS, or are having problems with this or any other federal agency, I encourage you to contact my office. As your representative in Washington, I am committed to helping you navigate the bureaucracy, cut through the red tape, and resolve problems. Each case is different, but in dealing with the IRS my office may be able to connect you with a taxpayer advocate, or contact the IRS to request more information or an update on your problem.
Many of the problems Nebraskans have with the IRS are a direct result of the immense complexity of the tax code – more than 10,000 pages of ever-changing rules. The code is so outdated and complicated nearly 90 percent of Americans choose to pay someone else to do their taxes or use commercial software. Tax compliance costs the American economy more than 6 billion hours and costs $168 billion annually in addition to actually paying the tax burden.
Simplifying the code would ease this burden on taxpayers, make our tax structure fairer, and be a significant boost to our economy. After years of work, dozens of hearings, and a series of bipartisan working groups, Ways and Means Chairman recently released a comprehensive draft tax reform proposal. This draft is intended to generate discussion and feedback and I hope you will take the time to review it at http://tax.house.gov
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