“I don’t think anybody thinks the tax code right now is fair or efficient.”

President Obama, December 6, 2010

“It’s just unacceptable … we’ve had, I think, 16,000 changes [in the tax code] since ’86.  Its a nightmare for all people.  It should be simplified.”

Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio), April 2010

Congress spends more through the tax code than through any entitlement program.  These tax expenditures have created a complex and inefficient tax system enforced by the IRS, a bloated, out-of-control bureaucracy.  Despite bipartisan agreement of the need for reform, Congress cannot agree on how to reform the existing tax code.   Our petition seeks repeal – or “sunset” - of the tax code at a set point in the future, by which time Congress must enact an entirely new and simpler tax system.  A “sunset” date will force meaningful reform by freeing the authors of the new tax code from the inefficiency and complexity inherent to the existing tax code. 

Join us to petition Congress to repeal the tax code effective January 2018.  If you have any doubts about signing, consider whether the current tax code makes any sense after reviewing the information below: 

America’s tax code is so complex that not even the IRS understands it.[1][2][3][4] Americans spend billions of dollars every year to comply with the tax code.[5][6] The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for ”rich” households makes many middle income Americans calculate taxes twice.[7][8] Low income earners pay the highest effective marginal tax rate under the tax code.[9] [9.5] The IRS audits low income earners who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit twice as often as other taxpayers.[10] Congressional spending enacted through tax code credits and breaks approaches a trillion dollars per year.[11][12] Complexity is not required to collect tax revenue: Social Security taxes collect as much revenue as the Individual Income Tax.[13] Constant tinkering with the tax code by Congress has introduced uncertainty that hurts America’s competitiveness.[14] The Tax Code Termination Act provides a vehicle for enacting a tax code sunset.

SIGN THE PETITION

Many simple alternatives exists to the current tax code: tell Congress your preferred alternative with our Replacement Tax Code Poll.