Politicians Love the Tax Code We Hate

Why does the U.S. continue to go in the opposite direction and make our code ever more complex? Because it is through deductions and credits that legislators manipulate the system. When you hear a politician touting a cause these days--whether it is making us more energy efficient, getting more kids to go to college, expanding educational opportunities in inner cities, or increasing home ownership--you can assume he intends to pursue his cause at least in part through changes in our tax code.

Credits and deductions are also a way for office holders to pay back the always-growing number of rent-seekers in Washington, from lobbyists to advocacy groups, by crafting adjustments in the tax code favorable to their industry or constituency. That’s one reason for the 3,125 changes in the tax code since 2001, an average of more than one a day.

Congress uses the tax code as a weapon to threaten us and as an inducement to cajole us. It is neither fair nor Constitutional and our leaders are not going to allow any lessening of their ability to use it against us.