Edwards Lays Out Plan To Overhaul Tax Filing System
Addressing an issue close to the Moderate Liberal’s heart, Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards has unveiled his plan to overhaul the tax filing system. Under Edward’s plan, the IRS will calculate millions of families’ tax bills and mail it to them on a new “Form 1.” Like a credit card bill, families could verify and recalculate it or simply sign and return it. Form 1 is part of Edwards’ vision of a tax code that is simpler and fairer and rewards work.
Each year, both taxpayers and the IRS get information returns from employers and financial institutions (on W-2 and 1099 forms) showing wages, interest and mortgage interest paid. Taxpayers who lose a piece of paper and do not correctly report their income faces audit, additional taxes, interest, and penalties. Under Edwards’ plan, the IRS will mail the information it has collected to taxpayers, eliminating the need to gather duplicative documents.
Any initiative that simplifies the time and risk of filing taxes should be seriously considered. While we would like to an even more aggressive effort to simplify the entire tax system, we welcome the initiative and the discussion. Thanks John Edwards, for starting a dialog on a important issue.