Tax Day Lessons for the GOP Congress

Keep it simple, and don’t forget that the current tax code is highly progressive.

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"The estimate in 2024, according to two analysts at the Tax Foundation, was that Americans would spend 7.9 billion hours that year complying with IRS filing and reporting requirements."

"“This is equal,” they wrote, “to 3.8 million full-time workers doing nothing but tax return paperwork—roughly equal to the population of Los Angeles.” What does it cost the economy? Their estimate was “$413 billion in lost productivity,” not to mention that “the IRS estimates that Americans spend roughly $133 billion annually in out-of-pocket costs.”"

"IRS data for 2022 show that the top 1% of filers paid 40.4% of income-tax revenue. The top 10% shouldered 72% of the revenue burden. The bottom half of filers, combined, paid 3%, and that’s an overstatement because it doesn’t account for “refundable” credits, which are treated as spending."