(Washington, DC) -- April 15th is the day millions of Americans turn their attention to taxes, but on this tax day lawmakers and constituents alike should also keep a watchful eye on an equally "taxing" problem -- sky-high government spending. That's the message President John Berthoud of the 350,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) gave Tax Day Rally participants today in the nation's capital.
"The spending extravagance of recent years has endangered Tax Code and Social Security reform, and has provided ammunition for those Members of Congress who would like to thwart lasting tax relief," said Berthoud. "Lawmakers who are serious about permanently extending the tax cuts President Bush signed into law must likewise get serious about reining in out-of-control federal spending."
Berthoud noted that the Office of Management and Budget estimates that total outlays for the current fiscal year will be a stunning 33 percent higher than outlays in 2001. And while a 3.6 percent growth rate in the coming year (as proposed by the President) would represent the smallest growth in spending since the Clinton years, it would still leave outlays 38 percent higher than in 2001.
"Rapid spending growth has occurred all across the budget," Berthoud said. He cited fiscal year 2001 to 2005 budget increases of 40 percent at the Department of Agriculture, 36 percent at the Department of Energy, and 26 percent at the Department of Labor.
"A bloated federal government requires an equally weighty Tax Code to feed itself; that's why budget restraint and tax relief go hand in hand," said Berthoud. "Both principles will help to create the smaller and more accountable government that Americans deserve."
According to a comprehensive study of tax complexity released yesterday by NTU, taxpayers today must wade through 128 pages of instructions for the 1040 "long" form package, over triple the number in 1975 and more than double the number in 1985, the year before taxes were "simplified." It now takes the average U.S. taxpayer 26 hours and 48 minutes to prepare the 1040 form and its most common schedules A, B, and D.
"American taxpayers now struggle under an IRS-induced paperwork burden of nearly 6.6 billion hours. So our taxes are too complex and too high." Berthoud concluded.
NTU is a non-profit, non-partisan citizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and more accountability from elected officials at all levels. Note: NTU Policy Paper 116, A Taxing Trend: The Rise in Complexity, Forms, and Paperwork Burdens, is available online at www.ntu.org.