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05 Jan 2011 21:00

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U.S.: Tax watchdog: Taxes too complicated, take too much time

  • United States Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson says something has to change. Olson, who makes a yearly report on the collective state of tax compliance, says we spend too much time paying our taxes, and the process is way too overwhelming. “There has been near universal agreement for years that the tax code is broken and needs to be fixed,” she says. “Yet no broad-based attempt to reform the tax code has been made.” Some of her findings:
  • 6.1B the number of hours it takes for businesses to comply with tax-filing requirements
  • 3M the number of workers Olson estimates are needed to ensure everyone tax compliance
  • 550% the increase in liens the IRS has filed against taxpayers over the last five years source