Tax Day Facts – Tim Scott, US Congress – SC District 1

Tax Day Facts.

Dear Friends,

True tax reform is something we must move towards, as our current convoluted and complicated system is hurting American families. A flatter, simpler tax code is absolutely necessary to ensure a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been sharing some interesting, and sometimes startling, facts regarding our tax code on Facebook and Twitter. I wanted to take a minute and share those with you here as well.

  • The US now has the highest corporate tax rate in the world – the opposite of competitive. Need tax reform for jobs and for American families
  • 3/5 of Americans think we’re overtaxed
  • Our tax code is so dense, the IRS has almost 100,000 employees. South Carolina only has 2 CITIES bigger than that.
  • Americans spend 8 BILLION hours a year doing their taxes. Simpler tax code = less time wasted.
  • There are more than 1,100 forms and instructional booklets from the IRS to determine one’s tax liability.
  • Americans pay $35 billion out of pocket for assistance in filing their taxes.
  • In the past ten years, there have been 4,428 changes to the tax code. There are only 3,653 days in 10 years.
  • Did u know the instruction booklet for the most-commonly used individual form (1040) is 189 pages long?
  • The US ranks 62nd in the world in terms of how easy it is to actually pay our taxes.
  • A recent Heritage Foundation study shows lowering our corporate tax rate to 25% would create 581,000 jobs a year for the next decade.
  • The average American pays $160/year to prepare tax returns. What could you do with an extra $160?
  • This year, 100% of what the average American earns from January 1 to April 17 will go to pay federal, state, and local taxes.
  • The IRS accounts for nearly 80% of the federal government’s entire paperwork load imposed on citizens.
  • In honor of Tax Day – the IRS said in 2008 the Tax Code is so long its “become challenging” to even know how long it is.

It is clear to see just how important it is for American families to revamp and reform our tax code. I will continue fighting to do just that in Washington.

Sincerely,

Tim