The Kaufman Income Tax Leadership Act

Herewith I propose the 2^nd of a series of very simple laws to fix very complex problems which I immodestly call The Kaufman Acts. The law I propose would have one of two effects—the cleansing of our tax code or of Congress. Should any member of Congress have the courage and wisdom to introduce my Tax Leadership Act, even defeat of the bill would certainly lead to proposals for a much simpler income tax or the defeat of many members of Congress who have made the present tax code a piñata of favors and a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of their fellow citizens.

The Kaufman Income Tax Leadership Act

Whereas, the near impossibility of correctly filling out income tax forms makes lawbreakers out of millions of Americans, and

Whereas, it would be a national disgrace to have our law makers and law breakers be one and the same,

Therefore, the Congress of the United States hereby declares that every member of Congress shall fill out personally his or her income tax forms and declarations, and

Therefore, any Member omitting required information or making an error in calculation shall pay a fine of no less than $1,000.00 or twice the amount of his or her annual tax payment, whichever is larger, and

Therefore, any Member omitting required information or making an error in calculation in two subsequent years shall become ineligible to vote on any tax measure before Congress, and

Therefore, any Member omitting required information or making an error in calculation in filing any three federal tax declarations shall become ineligible to serve in the next Congress or to hold other federal office for five years.

A Fair $200 Billion Stimulus/Tax Cut and Emancipation Proclamation

If President Obama wanted to immediately pump $200 billion into the American economy, give all tax payers a simultaneous rebate, and emancipate Americans from 3.8 million days of unpaid enforced labor (read 'slavery'), it can be done quickly by simple legislation. First I explain the figures.

The annual report from Nina Olson who is chief of the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service tells us how much time and money Americans spend to comply with a tax code that she says requires a "sanity check."

She estimates the cost of compliance to be $193 billion a year. Others estimate as much as $300 billion. So I use $200 billion. Every earner must fill out a form. This is unpaid, forced labor, usually known as slavery. Americans spend 7.6 billion hours in this work, or 3.6 million full time person-days of labor.

About the 20 volume 16,000 page long tax code Nina Olson says, "The tax laws should be simple enough so that most taxpayers can prepare their own returns without professional help, simple enough so that taxpayers can compute their tax liabilities on a single form . . . "

Allowing for certain necessary boiler plate legalese and a few qualifications, Congress could pass and President Obama could sign a 10 page tax code. The heart of it would read something like this: Every American shall pay a tax of 17% on that part of his or her earnings that exceed $35,000 a year.

That would exempt tens of millions of the lowest paid Americans from all federal income tax. It would emancipate millions more from involuntary servitude. It would allow the 80% who pay someone to help with taxes to save those millions of dollars. It would give much needed certainty to investors and entrepreneurs. And it would still bring in the same amount of taxes the government gets now, and probably more since fewer people would cheat.

How's that for an instant, fair, and understandable stimulus that works?