Sen. Bond advocates U.S. tax code reform

“Unfortunately, the biggest hurdle facing taxpayers and the IRS is the federal tax code, its regulations and other guidance, which has morphed to more than 54,000 pages – this is too complex, confusing and costly,” said Bond, in a news release. “I firmly support a comprehensive reform of the tax code that is founded in simplicity and reasonableness. This alone would result in substantially reduced tax fraud by making the process simpler and the system far fairer for all taxpayers.”

Bond noted that he hears complaints almost on a daily basis from small tax practitioners and businesses about the tax code, which has become unmanageable and

confusing. That confusion, Bond said, leads to excessive cost and administrative burdens that far exceed reasonable tax compliance.

During the hearing, Bond heard testimony from IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson and J. Russell George, treasury inspector general for tax administration in the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Bond applauded IRS efforts to reduce the tax gap – what taxes should be paid and what taxes are actually paid – through increased enforcement. He also stressed that quality customer service for taxpayers, particularly those with low incomes, is key for full and fair compliance with tax laws.

He also cited ongoing IRS efforts to modernize its computer systems as another area of importance. However, he noted that business systems modernization is behind schedule, over cost and delivering less functionality than originally planned. Bond told the IRS that clear requirements and benchmarks for the updating of computer systems must be established.