A book that is 27' wide!

I recently passed another ChFC exam, this particular test was on Income Taxation. Let me tell you, there are way too many damn laws revolving around the tax code. In my opinion it is a complete mess. Just to give you an idea of how complex the laws are take a look at the graph below. This graph illustrates how many pages of rules there are in the “handbook” and how it has changed over the years. I put parentheses around the word handbook, because it is no longer an actual book. If you were to bind a book using the average sheets of copier paper (.0038 inches thick) the book would be nearly 23 feet thick! The average bible is no more than a few inches at most. I hope that gives you an idea of how complex the rules have become.

Here are some quick outrageous facts about the income tax thanks to my friends at CATO Institute:

1.       There are more tax preparers in this country than there are troops that went to Iraq

2.       There are over 526 tax forms, most of which are catered specifically for special interest i.e. “form 8845-Indian Employment Credit” or “form 6197-Gas Guzzler Tax”

3.       The tax code is discriminatory: Singles are worse off than married couples, homeowners are treated more favorably than renters, the list goes on and on.

4.       For 7 other wild facts check out CATO’s article http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3063