Americans spend 5.4 billion hours complying with the tax code. The main reason the tax code is so complex is the proliferation of deductions, credits and other special preferences in the tax law. Because of these loopholes, taxpayers with similar incomes can pay vastly different amounts in taxes. This uneven treatment of taxpayers is fundamentally unfair and is at odds with the American value of equality under the law. The American people are beleaguered by the highest tax burden in American history.
Taxes represent a larger share of the U.S. economy than ever before.
As the nearby chart shows, the typical American family now pays more in taxes than it spends on food, clothing, and shelter combined. In 1948, the typical four-person family paid just two percent of its income in federal taxes. Today, that same family pays a quarter of its income in taxes to the federal government. High taxes have fueled unparalleled growth in government. The U.S. public sector is now larger than the entire economy of any country in the world except Japan and the United States itself.