I Read Blogs...

From THE BOSS:

I read blogs. Some of them are opinions of individuals, some are military, legal or tax related. I try very hard to read these blogs with an open mind and also to understand the other side's point of view. As we all know, knowledge is power; and besides, you never know when you might need a “fact” during a conversation.

On one of the tax blogs I was reading the conclusion of a paper and the last 15 words struck me like a bolt of lightning. I read them 3 times before I thought my head would explode. Here are those 15 words: “the notion that the tax code is founded on basic notions of fairness and uniformity.” The law professor who wrote those 15 words was trying to make the point that all persons need to be treated equally, and currently this one IRC (Internal Revenue Code) does not do that.

Here is how the key word “notion(s)” is defined:
· A belief or opinion.
· A mental image or representation; an idea or conception.
· A fanciful impulse; a whim.

Now let’s take these same 15 words and insert the first definition. It would read “the opinion that the tax code is founded on basic beliefs of fairness and uniformity” or it could be read using the second definition “ the idea that the tax code is founded on the basic concept of fairness and uniformity.”

I know you see where I am going with this. Here are those same 15 words using the third definition: “the whim that the tax code is founded on the basic impulse of fairness and uniformity.” Interesting, but not quite there yet, so let me give it one more try. Here is how it should read: “the opinion that the tax code is founded on the basic whim of fairness and uniformity.”

I like the fourth definition best. It is the correct perspective on the IRS/ IRC. “Why?", you ask? To give you a short answer: “because the IRC is over 75,000 pages long.” The IRS is a machine in the respect that they win 70% to 85% of the cases no matter what strategy the taxpayer takes. They have files, cases of paper and servers full of data to argue the other side. They have more attorney that the largest US Law Firms. Come to think of it, they are the largest US Law Firm!

In 1913 the tax code was 300 pages, moving up to 8,200 pages by 1945. By 1954 there were 14,000 pages, jumping to 67,500 pages by 2008. This is nuts! Today we hover somewhere around 75,000 to 80,000 pages, give or take a thousand.

Let me ask these questions, “How can there be fairness and uniformity?” when the IRS doesn’t even know and understand all 75,000+ pages? “How can the taxpayer get justice when they hire one attorney to go up against the largest law machine in our country?” While the taxpayer is struggling to pay one attorney to file a suit, write motions, research prior cases, the IRS does a data search and out spits a list of cases they’ve won. Reviewing the list, they pick the best ones, cut, copy and paste into a new motion and file it with the court. It cost them cents on the dollar versus the poor taxpayer who is paying hundreds of dollars an hour.

If there is to be fairness and uniformity we need a stepped Flat Tax, one form to fill out and less government with their hands in our pockets.

I married her because she's smarter than I am. So -- what she said!