Do You Have a Good Idea for Tax Reform?

This article is a guest blogger submission written by Jason Guthrie of the BeanCounterBlog. If you like what you see, why not subscribe to his RSS feed?

The IRS defines taxpayer burden as “time and money taxpayers spend to comply with their federal tax obligations” (i.e. the average time and expense required to complete and file a tax form). And the IRS has slowly started to realize that the taxpayer burden has become very hard to bear for many taxpayers. We’ve known this for years, but apparently the IRS has been slow to realize this. And I’m a firm believer that there are some very intelligent people out there who could simplify the tax code and the tax collection process a hundred times better than the suits in Washington. And now’s the time for those people to stand up and say something.

The IRS’s Office of Taxpayer Burden Reduction is soliciting recommendations from members of the public on ways to reduce taxpayer burden. Form 13285A, Reducing Burden on America’s Taxpayers, requests a specific description of the problem as well as a description of the proposed solution and the type of taxpayers or businesses that are affected.

This year there are several initiatives coordinated through the Office of Taxpayer Burden Reduction including:
• AMT Assistant for Individual Taxpayers - A new online tool that helps individual taxpayers determine whether they are potentially subject to the alternative minimum tax (AMT)
• Streamlined Extension of Time to File - Taxpayers are able to request an automatic, six-month tax-filing extension for most common individual and business returns
• Revised Schedule K-1 for Partnerships, S-corporations and Trusts - The schedule has been simplified to reduce common errors and the burden associated with preparation and filing requirements

So please… if you have any ideas on ways to ease the burden of paying taxes for the rest of us please take a few minutes to jot down your ideas on an overly-complicated IRS form and snail-mail it in!