Encoded Tax Code

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has written (and I paraphrase) that judges have a responsibility to write their opinions in a way that the average person can understand, because it is the average person who will have to live by these decisions. I only disagree with Justice Scalia on one account: this edict is not limited to the judiciary.

I believe it is immoral for those in power to write laws they expect the citizenry to obey, which the citizenry cannot understand.

Tomorrow each of us are going to be subjected to a thing known as Title 26 of the United States Code, or the Tax Code. It is thousands of pages long (13,000+ at one source). It cannot be found complete at one source, and must be accessed in parts. It is full of inconsistencies and contradictions. And there is no human on this planet that fully understands the code.

Everyone complains about the confusing nature of the tax code, the orneriness of having to comply with it. Most complain about the amount of money lost to businesses trying to stay current with the ever changed code. But like the weather, no one does anything.

The pressure, however, is building. On tax day (normally referred to as thieving day around here) there are going to be hundreds of “tea parties” around the nation. Officially these are to protest the rampant spending of the government. Our tax code and our spending are explicitly linked.

If you feel the way I do, try to attend one of these rallies, or contact your congressmen. Let your voice be heard. We are approching the tipping point.