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I have mixed feelings about this.

Yes, the IRS has been reduced a lot in size. However, most returns are now submitted electronically, the IRS clearly was abusive in regards to Tee Party organization applications, if we can simplify the tax code the IRS won't need as many employees.

However, the IRS does need to audit and examine filings. I don't think they need 30% more, but lets see about tax simplification and cleansing the IRS of political operatives of the Obama administration.

We need local IRS offices where we can pick up forms and ask questions of human beings. No. Va has no offices any longer (used to be about 1-1/4 miles from my house, with parking. Now you have to go to some God forsaken hole in DC, one lousy office for the city according to their website.

Some offices out in the hinterland can’t even read a letter of inquiry properly. I’m still get “we’re working on it, whatever it is” letters from over 2 years ago.

I asked a simple question about whether my wife and I were eligible for a program because there were a couple lines on the W1040’s the looked like it applied to us.

STILL WAITING!

> “He made the observation in response to a question about the “tax gap,” or the difference between what should be collected and how much ends up in the government coffers.”

I’ve had discussions about the so-called ‘tax gap’ back to 2000. Whenever the question is asked how it is arrived at “what should be collected”, it is always left unanswered until pressing on it fully, to which the answer is ‘estimated’, ‘wished for’, etc.

The ‘tax gap’ issue is a Beltway buzz issue that is conjured up whenever fed bureaucrats and pols want to spend more, and want to shift focus to an imaginary magic unicorn of ‘taxes out there somewhere waiting to be picked up’. It doesn’t exist except in prostitution, drug dealing. black markets, MAYBE. And no one knows for sure what it is or where it might come from.

The ‘tax gap’ is used to justify increased spending because somehow a deal is made to hire more IRS employees to go round up those taxes somewhere. It’s a ruse and it needs to stop.

Tax form should be simple for the individual. I am currently dealing with the IRS saying I owe nearly 10k from 2014 when I sold stock I had bought but not sold for many years (never made a profit) because they do not know where I got money from in 2003. It was an inheritance and I gave them the insurance policy numbers, death certificate and they want to me to fill out more forms. They really need a form that says for inheritance. Going on 3 months now as they are slow to respond. Hopefully here good news this month from them....

Even with a simplified and fair tax system, the need to actually collect is there - probably a few million libs not paying taxes (think Al Sharpton) and never come up on the RADAR because they have no conservative history....Trump is about efficiency and those he selects will also follow that meme.

IOW - don't get yer panties all twisted up over a confirmation hearing phrase.

The tax code comprises tens of thousands of pages and is too complicated for citizens, businesses, and the IRS to understand.

Trump and his team need to wipe out the existing tax code and replace it with a simplified tax system. Most individuals should be able to file on a postcard and most small businesses on a single sheet of paper.

If the tax code, and tax filing are simplified, audits and enforcement will also be easier. Eliminate Obamacare, and the agency’s involvement in managing the healthcare system, and suddenly thousands of IRS agents and auditors are freed up to investigate and go after the big tax cheats.

Simplifying the tax code will also relieve the American people of the huge cost of tax compliance — the legions of accountants and tax lawyers hired by everyday citizens to prepare individual and small business returns. Free up the hundreds or thousands of dollars each citizen and small business currently pay for tax compliance and there will be billions of dollars injected into productive activities in the economy or additional savings for education and retirement. The economic boost from tax simplification will be tremendous.

In addition to simplifying the tax law, the new treasury secretary needs to weed out the political operatives, such a Lois Lerner, the Clinton and Obama administrations inserted into the bureaucracy.