April 13, 2010

tax code gone wild

The US Chamber of Commerce has a blog.  They call it the Chamber Pot.  Sorry, Chamber Post.  For some reason that s always drops off when I read it.  Today they linked me to the video below, which would make FOX News proud (if anyone over at FOX News could understand it).



OK, sorry, I showed a little bias there, didn't I?

Over at the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, where I think they consider Glenn Beck a little too far left for their satisfaction, they say this video "exposes hidden tax of IRS compliance."  In the end, I was very disappointed to find, the narrator does not actually expose anything.

Personally, I think a flat tax with a minimal set of rules makes a lot of sense.  The IRS as it exists today is even more ridiculous than the health care industry.  Throw out the tax code.  Establish a flat income tax.  Abolish exemptions (except the extremely poor) and tax-based subsidies.  The 1040 would be reduced to a quarter page (half a page including instructions).  What's not to like?

This video does highlight some staggering statistics which prove is that the current tax system and the IRS are huge, wasteful bureaucracies.  There's an unfortunate undertone of "it's all Obama's fault" which is no surprise if you look at the other articles and videos at the Center for Freedom and Prosperity.  And in the end, the exposé of the hidden tax is that, yes, companies hire people to comply with tax law, and those people are paid out of the companies' taxed revenues, and their salaries are then taxed, and golly gosh darn it when they invest their money that gets taxed too!

I'm not really sure what the point of this video is except to make everyone feel worse than they already do about April 15th, the IRS, and government waste.  And of course it's only going to get worse since Obama put the IRS in charge of... something.  What did she say at 2:06?  Oh yeah, Obama "put the IRS in charge of enforcing a government run health care system."

Wait a second.  WTF?  THE IRS RUNS THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM?

Oh shit.  Now they really CAN take your spleen or whatever if you don't pay your taxes.  My god.  The cost of compliance will soar.  But it'll still be less than the cost of non-compliance.

But doesn't it all sound better when read by a cute college girl sporting a spaghetti strap top and a glowing tan?

5 comments:

Sarah Laurenson said...

What I'd like to know is how she spells her name. I couldn't quite catch it the way it rolled off her tongue.

Isn't it always Obama's fault? That seems to be the catch phrase I keep hearing.

The IRS will be running health care? They must need something for all those employees to do outside of the tax season.

PJD said...

What I'd like to know is how she spells her name. I couldn't quite catch it the way it rolled off her tongue.

Uh huh. I bet you say that to all the girls. Maybe I'll try that too.

And yes, everything's Obama's fault. A phrase I have come to enjoy is, "Obama promised this wouldn't happen." It's really quite a versatile phrase. It works equally well with a delayed flight, a scoop of mint chip dropped off the cone onto the ground, and the secret police showing up at your door to take away your BMW and replace it with a Festiva.

PJD said...

Oh my god, I just actually listened to her name. Queiwa Alikabandian? I also would like to know how it's spelled.

Queue-wa Al Akabandian?

Sounds terrorist to me. But even so, I bet she puts a little heart where the dot over the "i" should be.

Blogless Troll said...

I think you're getting all worked up over nothing. Most people know it's not Obama's fault. It's Bush's fault.

I mean, Clinton's fault.

No, whoops, Bush Sr's and Reagan's fault.

I mean, Carter's.

Nixon! I meant to say Nixon! He's the real bastard. Yeah, Nixon.

Or Johnson...

Bernita said...

"Oh shit. Now they really CAN take your spleen or whatever if you don't pay your taxes."

And if you've already lost your appendix and gall bladder, you're in trouble.