Unacceptable: U.S. Tax Code Longer Than Bible, Lawmaker Says

SARASOTA, FL — As thousands of Americans scramble to meet Monday’s deadline for filing their 2015 income tax returns, one lawmaker from Florida is making a point to tout the need for reform.

“Americans are paying a record amount in taxes to fund a bloated and inefficient federal bureaucracy,” said U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida. “Hardworking families are struggling under a complex and punishing tax code. Our tax policies should incentivize job creation and economic growth, not punish people for working hard.”

In a statement, Buchanan cited a few points that might make those hardworking Americans take pause. Congressional Budget Office figures, Buchanan said, show that the government collected “a record amount of taxpayer money in the first half of fiscal year 2016, nearly $1.48 trillion.” About $1.2 trillion of that number came from income and payroll taxes, he said.

Buchanan touted the need for simplification of the tax code and the passage of a “Constitutional balanced budget amendment to ensure that Washington lives within its means.”

To illustrate just how complex the country’s tax code is, Buchanan noted these points:

• The Internal Revenue Service estimates it takes an average American about 13 hours to complete a tax return.
• The current tax code is more than 1 million words long. “More than 200,000 words longer than the King James Bible,” Buchanan's statement read. Buchanan’s premise tracks, according to The Amazing Bible Timeline, but his numbers are a little off. The King James Authorized version, according to the website, has 783,137 words. The U.S. tax code is actually estimated to be about 4 million words long, according to Politifact.com.
• The country’s tax code “is so complex that even former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman admitted that he cannot prepare his own tax return,” Buchanan’s statement said. This also tracks, according to The Hill. “I find the tax code complex so I use a preparer,” the publication quoted Shulman as saying back in 2010.

What changes, if any, do you think should be made to the U.S. tax code? Let us know by commenting below!

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