Is the taxation system in the US complicated?

With tax day approaching, I discussed taxes with two scholars of the U.S. system — MIT's Andrea Campbell and the Brookings Institution's Vanessa Williamson. A lightly edited transcript follows. John: Andrea and Vanessa, thanks so much for chatting about taxes. read more

The tax system in the US is both at state level and at federal level. The many types of taxes that are found in the us include income tax, sales tax, capital gain tax etc. the federal government and the state got have their own category of taxes and each cannot interfere in the collection of the other. read more

And these targeted subsidies inevitably complicate the tax system by creating distinctions among taxpayers, and among sources and uses of income. Moreover, bowing to pressure from a handful of antitax activists, many members of Congress have signed a pledge to never raise taxes. read more

Federal tax rules span about 75,000 pages today, which is three times more than when President Jimmy Carter called the code “a disgrace to the human race.” The problem is that Congress micromanages us with ever more tax credits, deductions and exemptions for education, energy, health care, saving, working and other activities. read more