Introduction to the Tax Simplification Symposium

[Excerpt] "Ours is a voluntary tax system. That is, we rely, in large measure, upon the honesty of the citizens to report and pay the correct amount of tax. However, as another April 15 has come and gone, we realize that this reliance casts an increasingly larger and larger burden upon the citizens, even amidst some of the largest tax cuts in history. Why?

In 2000, 71 million Americans paid an estimated $14.7 billion to paid tax preparers.1 The most prevalent reason is that most Americans are afraid to have errors on their return. Despite the fact that the Internal Revenue Service publishes detailed instructions, preparing a tax return is a frightening (and time-consuming) prospect for millions. The IRS estimates that, on average, it takes over 13 hours to prepare just the two page 1040 form, and an additional five and a half hours to prepare Schedule A.2"