“Fear is the foundation of most governments.” This quote by John Adams, considered by many historians to be the real leader of the American Revolution, was said 1776 in reference of King George III. Adams’ words are still relevant today, especially in regards to one government agency in particular: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In fact, aside from the injustice, the U.S. tax system is a major drain on the economy and amounts to a national scandal.

Precise estimates have recently shown that each year $6 billion worth of man hours is required to comply with the US Internal Revenue Code. When you add up all the costs of tax compliance (i.e., accountants, lawyers, tax preparers, etc.), American citizens wind up paying over $100 billion annually, a cost figure that doesn’t even include actual taxes paid! The administrative costs alone of the nearly 110,000 employee-IRS bureaucracy exceeds $10 billion a year. And the IRS wants still more money and more bureaucrats!

In 1913, when the first national income tax became law, the entire Internal Revenue Code was a slim, 173 page volume. Today, the IRC has over 18,000 pages of laws, regulations, advisories and rulings (this equates, roughly, to 9 telephone directories). Forms, instructions, orders and notices make up thousands more pages.

In its greedy appetite for financial privacy invasion, no other government agency exceeds the IRS. And the IRS is a pitiless predator. At least, this is how many taxpayers feel, especially they’ve been audited. Yet the governments own auditors, the General Accounting Office (GAO), reported that when it audited 45 random transactions handled by the IRS, 16 were properly calculated and 29 were wrong, which is a 64% error rate! (GAO Pub. 94-120) The GAO considers one mistake in 45 an acceptable ratio. Nevertheless, the IRS moves in against taxpayers based on such misinformation. So, it’s no wonder why citizens fear the agency and its powers.

Several years ago, congress held hearings on the IRS. These hearings publicly exposed what most Americans knew already: that was the IRS conducts its affairs like a financial Secret Police, running roughshod over the rights of citizen.

One after another, witnesses presented proof of how ruthlessly the IRS had used its unrestrained powers. The IRS seemed to view all taxpayers as adversaries by arrogantly assuming them to be guilty until they could prove otherwise. Witnesses testified how the IRS snatched property, seized bank accounts and turned people out of their homes, usually without regard to due process of law. And much of this activity was carried on secretly with little accountability.

Shelley L. Davis wrote in her book “Unbridled Power”, that "IRS reform is long over due." And Ms. Davis knows what she is saying: She served as official historian of the IRS. Then when she began ask too many difficult questions, she was fired.

Nearly everyone is for "tax reform", but tax reform should begin within the IRS itself.

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