Morgan Stanley Poll Finds Public Uncertain Over New US Tax Laws

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

24 July 2001

A recent telephone survey conducted by the global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, found that an overwhelming majority of American taxpayers are confused by the implications of President Bush's new tax laws. The survey was conducted on a representative sample of 1,027 American taxpayers, and took place between June 28th and July 1st.

The poll found that 69% of respondants believed that the tax changes would be complex, and that just over half (52%) had already sought, or were planning to seek, professional advice on how the tax laws would affect them. 'Even though the new tax laws mean new investment opportunities to millions of Americans, this survey demonstrates investors need help to understand the potential benefits to their investment portfolios,' explained John Schaefer, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Morgan Stanley Individual Investor Group. 'Professional financial advice can help individual investors connect with the best opportunities to enhance their personal finances.'

The changes to the American taxation system, and in particular the tax rebate scheme which is the flagship measure of the present administration, seems to be the source of a great deal of confusion at the moment, and the IRS most recently came under fire when it was revealed that some of the notices stating the amount taxpayers could expect to receive were incorrect.

This was especially embarassing for the Internal Revenue Service as it came in the wake of warnings issued by the Treasury Department concerning scams whereby gullible tax payers were being charged a fee for calculation of the projected size of their tax rebate. At the time, the Treasury Department told the American public to leave everything in the capable hands of the IRS, reassuring them that this was not necessary, and that the IRS would be sending out accuarate information on the size and timing of the refund.

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