Did you post this in the Smoky Backroom?
Studies estimate the costs of compliance with the current tax system to be around $200 billion annually. And, compliance costs are only one of the current system’s difficulties. More importantly, decisions to invest, save, and consume are all distorted due to the complexity, numerous loopholes, exemptions, and social engineering prevalent throughout our current tax code. The $200 billion figure does not even begin to address these costs. In a recent GAO study, the literature examining these efficiency costs were reviewed, finding that, “Although none of these studies, either individually or in the aggregate, provide a basis for estimating the total efficiency cost of the tax system, they do indicate that those total costs are likely to be large. The two most comprehensive studies we found show costs on the order of magnitude of 2 to 5 percent of GDP each year (as of the mid-1990s).” Furthermore, as a direct result of these inefficiencies, our current tax code imposes a marginal tax rate that is far higher than necessary, providing larger than necessary economic disincentives. High and invasive taxes also induce people to employ greater attempts to minimize their tax burdens, wasting valuable productive resources in the process.
Dang! Haven't we been told repeatedly over the years that these other costs the paper speaks of are a figment of our imaginations? Haven't we been told that every bit of evidence we have presented in this regard has been "discredited" without any reference to who did the supposed discrediting?
I'm sure I heard all that multiple times from some here?
Looks like the authors of this paper failed to get the word!