100 Million Unnecessary Returns: A Simple, Fair, and Competitive Tax Plan for the United States

To most Americans, the United States tax code has become a vast and confounding puzzle. In 1940, the instructions to the form 1040 were about four pages long.and#160; Today they have ballooned to more than a hundred pages, and the form itself contains more than ten schedules andand#160;twenty worksheets. The complete tax code totals about 2.8 million wordsand#8212;about four times the length of War and Peace. In this intriguing book, Michael Graetz maintains that our tax code has become a tangle of loopholes, paperwork, and inconsistenciesand#8212;a massive social program that fails tests of simplicity and fairness. More important, our tax system has failed to keep pace with the changing economy, creating burdens and wastes of resources that weigh our nation down.

Graetz offers a solution. Imagine a world in which most Americans pay no income tax at all, and those who do enjoy a far simpler tax processand#8212;all this without decreasing government revenues or removing key incentives for employer-sponsored health care plans and pensions. As Graetzand#160;adeptly and clearly describes, this world is within our grasp.

and#8220;Michael Graetz has done the near-impossible.andnbsp;He has come up with a sweeping tax reform plan that would simplify the system and retain the progressivity that is the linchpin of the American tax system.andnbsp;The book ought to appeal to liberals and conservatives and ought to be read by every presidential candidate out there.and#8221;and#8212;Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute and co-author of The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track

and#8220;This is must reading for presidential candidates, members of the tax writing committees of Congress and all Americans who are interested in a growing economy. It should inspire us to summon the political will to scrap our broken tax system and replace it with one that is simpler, fair and better able to serve the economic needs of America.and#8221;and#8212;Jack Danforth, former United States Senator

and#8220;There are few people on earth who understand the economics, the law, and the politics of the tax system as well as Michael Graetz. When the nation finally gets serious about reforming the tax code, this important book will be one of the reasons.and#8221;and#8212;Alan S. Blinder, Professor of Economics, Princeton University, former member of President Clintonand#8217;s Council of Economic Advisers, and former Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve

"The most interesting [tax] plan I've seen."and#8212;David Ignatius, The Washington Post

and#8220;Michael Graetz, one of the worldand#8217;s leading tax policy experts, has put forth a plan that joins sensible economics with political possibility.andnbsp;His proposal should be essential reading for the next president.and#8221;and#8212;Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia University Graduate School of Business, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under President George W. Bush

Michael J. Graetz is a Professor of Law at Columbia University Law School.