America’s Small Firms Say They Need A Simpler Tax System

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

17 December 2004

America’s small businesses want the Bush administration to focus on simplifying the tax code when carrying out its promised tax reforms, in order to allow firms to spend more time concentrating on growth and less time filling out forms.

Speaking at the two-day economic conference called by President Bush to spark ideas on how to carry out an ambitious program of reform encompassing the social security, health and legal systems as well as taxation, certified public accountant June Lennon stated that the tax code has reached a “complexity crisis.”

"Each tax law brings more complexity, even when it gives us tax breaks and incentives," she observed.

A prime example of this, according to Lennon, was the bonus depreciation measure passed by Congress in 2002 which provided an up front 50% depreciation allowance on the purchase of equipment and machinery.

Whilst the measure was generally welcomed by business, she noted that the added paperwork necessary to claim the tax break took the gloss off its benefits, especially as different states keep different depreciation schedules.

To help simplify the tax system for small firms, Lennon recommended that the administration seek to make permanent ‘Section 179’ expensing, which allows businesses to write off up to $100,000 in expenses for new investments, whilst also locking in lower rates for ‘S’ Corporations, reforming the Alternative Minimum Tax and repealing estate tax.

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