How to measure “simple”

How to measure “simple”

You have to go back to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to find more sweeping changes to the tax law than what the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act gave us. After the 1986 Act was passed, the IRS experienced a 14% increase in the number of phone calls by people looking for help with their taxes. But the 1986 Act was not billed as “tax simplification.” There was no claim by the administration that one could file a tax return on a “postcard” because of the changes. The Affordable Care Act in 2010 increased call volume by 8% and another 18% in 2012. Now, as a result of the Jobs Act, the IRS conservatively estimates that it will face an additional 4 million phone calls this filing season. This is about a 10% increase in call volume. Why would so many more people have to phone the IRS for help if the tax law is so simple? The answer is plain. The law is not simple. New code section 199A by itself is 12 pages long, and the regulations the IRS just published on that law are 165 pages long. This is not tax reform.