LIA seeks to get U.S. tax code simplified

Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) has asked the Long Island Association for a simple favor: Help simplify the 1.4-million word, 10,000-section U.S. tax code.

Kevin Law, president of the LIA, the Island's largest business and civic organization, did not faint away when he got the request. "Obviously the code is huge, and it would take an army of agents to go through line by line," Law said. "We're not going to do that."

Instead, Law said, he has created a committee  of CPAs from some large Long Island firms to identify a few key provisions that would help businesses. Among them: addressing the Alternative Minimum Tax, which attempts to ensure that anyone who benefits from tax advantages pays at least a minimum amount of tax, and making sure businesses maintain some tax credits and deductions. "I hope we can come up with a dozen key proposals Steve could then advocate for on our behalf," Law said.

In his letter Israel said, "Not all paths to a simpler tax code are equal," and LIA input would be "an invaluable guide for Congress."

Simplyfing the U.S. tax code makes solving a Rubik's Cube look like child's play. Robert Katz, a partner at Katz, Bernstein & Katz, tax lawyers in Syosset, said taking on the controversial AMT is a monumental task in itself.

"The government is getting so much money" from the AMT, Katz said. "How would they make up for the shortfall?" And the tax code, Katz said, has spawned an entire industry, in both people and technology. Simplyfing the code "could be done," Katz said. "But what is the cost?"

Israel posted a survey on his website asking Long Islanders whether they favor simplifying the code, how long it takes them to complete their taxes and whether government should end tax loopholes and breaks for large companies.

In a statement, Israel said the code is "too long, too complicated and a burden" for businesses and taxpayers.