In the news: Simplify the tax code and reap the benefits

The 2010 midterm elections have changed America’s political landscape, but the nation’s federal tax laws remain as complex and cumbersome as ever, says Frank Gunter, associate professor of economics.

Writing in the opinion pages of the Allentown, Pa., Morning Call, Gunter argues that the 72,000-page tax code undermines the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses while imposing a burden on workers and employers that goes far beyond the taxes they are assessed.

“A radical rewriting of the tax code that slaughters all sacred tax cows simultaneously,” Gunter says, offers the next Congress an ideal opportunity to achieve bipartisan consensus.

Gunter’s op-ed, titled “Simplifying U.S. tax code could benefit everyone,” was published Nov. 8.