Obama Wants to Do Your Taxes

While dismissing the tax protests of yesterday, Barack Obama promised a simpler tax code and one that might involve government bureaucrats completing your returns for you:

"I want every American to know that we will rewrite the tax code so that it puts your interests over any special interests," Mr. Obama said. "And we'll make it easier, quicker and less expensive for you to file a return, so that April 15th is not a date that is approached with dread every year."

Austan Goolsbee, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and the executive director of the Volcker board, devised a detailed plan during the campaign that would largely do away with tax returns for millions of Americans.

Under the "Simple Return" plan, the Internal Revenue Service would complete tax returns for taxpayers whose sole income comes from one employer and whose interest income comes from one bank. The IRS would then send a copy of the return to the taxpayer. If the first wave of the program worked well, it could be expanded to other taxpayers.

Mr. Goolsbee has estimated the plan would save as many as 225 million hours of tax-preparation time and more than $2 billion a year in tax-preparation fees. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the White House is "studying the implementation" of the campaign proposal.

I wonder if Obama will be "pro-choice" when it comes to participation in this program? I personally would not be happy about having some IRS schlub preparing my taxes for me, and really wouldn't be happy if I didn't have a choice in the matter. You know it's not in his best interest to work the system to your advantage. That's why people pay CPAs and others to help them.

If you want to simplify the tax code, fine...establish a flat tax and make everybody participate. Quit giving 40% of the wage earners a free ride while punishing those who have been successful with confiscatory tax rates. That would be much simpler.

It's really not that difficult to understand.