FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
June 16, 1998
No. OV-19
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the impact of complexity in the tax code for individual taxpayers and small businesses. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, June 23, 1998, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives from organizations representing individual taxpayers and small businesses. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
When the Federal tax system was established in 1913, the legislation was only 19 pages long. Today, the Internal Revenue Code has ballooned to nearly 2,300 pages, not counting regulations. The resulting compliance burden on taxpayers is enormous, especially on middle-income taxpayers and on small businesses.
Many studies have been done documenting the impact of this complexity on individuals and small businesses. For example, one study showed that U.S. taxpayers spent more than five billion hours preparing tax returns with compliance costs at more than $200 billion in 1998. Two-thirds of compliance costs were bourne by businesses, and small businesses face the brunt of these costs. Another study has shown that some small businesses may pay more than $700 in compliance costs for every $100 that they pay in taxes.
Because of the problems caused by the complexity of the current tax code, there are many efforts in Congress to replace the tax code. However, in the interim, simplification of the most complex provisions of the code may help to significantly reduce the burden on individual taxpayers and small businesses.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "The complexity of the tax code is staggering. Every year middle-income taxpayers and small businesses spend more and more time, effort, and money trying to prepare their tax returns. It is time that Congress acts to reexamine the tax code and see if we can simplify or repeal some of its most complex provisions. I believe that this hearing will be a meaningful step toward simplifying the tax code to lessen the burden on middle-income taxpayers and to allow entrepreneurs to concentrate on their businesses and not their tax returns."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Subcommittee will review current law to identify the impact of complexity, in particular, on middle-income taxpayers and small businesses, including: (1) the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for individuals, (2) small business expensing including computer software, and (3) treatment of deductions in lieu of depreciation for small businesses (section 179).
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Monday, July 6, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.