Tax System

They came with cameras and heady expectations, but unlike most tourists, the visitors from Inner Mongolia weren't here to see the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument. No, they came for another great American institution - the U.S. tax system. The trip was planned three years ago as officials in China's northern territory faced a vexing problem in their increasingly capitalistic community: how to get people to pay their taxes. So they sent 20 of their brightest tax collectors on a six-month, all-expenses-paid trip to Baltimore for a crash course on American taxation.

Congratulations! You just filed your tax return. You and the Internal Revenue Service are quits for another year (barring mistakes and audits, of course).It was a hellish struggle. W-2. Form 1040. Schedule A. The work sheet to see if you need to file Form Something-or-other. Earned income. Unearned income. Early withdrawals from IRA. Alternative Minimum Tax. A 54-line form to separate $85 worth of capital gains into three categories.There must be, you are thinking, an easier way.In fact, many easier ways to collect America's taxes are under study.

In his remarks to the Greater Baltimore Committee's annual meeting Wednesday night, T. Rowe Price Chairman Brian C. Rogers noted a contradiction in how the world sees Maryland as a place to do business. On the one hand, it is universally recognized for its top-ranked school systems and universities, skilled workforce, research activity, potential for innovation, and great quality of life. On the other, it frequently winds up toward the bottom of rankings of business competitiveness — most recently, by CEO Magazine — largely because of our tax system and regulatory environment.

Berlin, Md. -- It is hard to believe that our nation was founded to avoid excess taxation. In 218 years, we have gone from taxation with representation to taxation without relaxation. Everything we have is taxed, including our patience. What the present tax forms need is a section that explains the explanations.If we can have health-care reform, why can't we have true tax simplification? The Republicans tried for 12 years to simplify our federal tax system and, after three attempts, the simpler tax system had 41 additional forms.

I heard from a self-described Maryland millionaire. His name was Les. He was kind of cranky. He put the hate on me for Tuesday's column about state Sen. Bobby Zirkin (Democrat and defender of millionaires), and Les condemned the Maryland Senate for raising the tax rate on households, like his, with annual incomes of $500,000 or more. "If it's wrong to balance the budget on the backs of the poor," Les said, "then it's wrong to balance the budget on the backs of the rich. " I guess that means Les dislikes our progressive income tax system, where the taxable rate rises along with taxable income.

Washington. -- The budget deficit has consumed most of the public's attention to the economy. But there is a second problem whose solution is necessary to building our economic strength: We must change our tax system to one that encourages saving, investment and economic growth.As long as Congress and the administration are content to make only minor and cosmetic alterations in a fundamentally unproductive and short-sighted tax system, Americans will continue to spend lifetimes catching up instead of getting ahead.

Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson says a survey by her office last year found that 55 percent of taxpayers don't think they have any rights when dealing with the IRS. Only 9 percent knew correctly that they did. Olson says on her blog that Congress passed three pieces of legislation since 2007 giving taxpayers greater protections. She writes: “As a result of legislation, we have taxpayer rights, but no one knows what they are. And if taxpayers don't know what their rights are, how can they claim them?

There is never a good time to talk about taxes. GivenMaryland's softened economy and the current state budget deficit, the prospect of new taxes is neither popular nor promising.Yet, a discussion about Maryland's tax system is very much in order. Our system is outmoded and outdated. Over time it has failed to keep pace with the changing nature of the state and the needs of all our citizens. It is not a fair system -- either in how it taxes, or in how the revenue is expended.The Commission on State Taxes and Tax Structure was created in 1987 for the express purpose of finding ways to change and improve Maryland's tax system.

WASHINGTON - As Americans faced today's deadline for filing their income tax returns, President Bush's advisory panel on tax reform is serving notice that it will propose sweeping changes in the tax code this summer. Former Sen. John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat and co-chairman of the panel, said yesterday that the group is "absolutely" intent on recommending a thorough restructuring of the income tax system rather than a modest simplification or tinkering around the edges. He also said he favored limiting to one or two the number of tax-reform options the panel will submit to the Treasury Department by July 31, rather than four or five options that would include less extensive reforms.

APOLOGIES and promise of closer administrative and legislative oversight are fine, but in the end inadequate. The IRS simply should go.Back when a certain self-financing millionaire sought to be president, there was much discussion of a "flat tax," but in truth, the flat tax does absolutely nothing about the IRS. Whatever rate applies, the flat tax still applies to "income."The idea of toting up "income" sounds simple enough, but when the government gets done with it, it would entail a code book the size of the telephone directory.