PROVODED BY CNNNEXT.COM
"U.S.
lawmakers return this week from their holiday recess to perform what has become an annual ritual: pretending to decide whether to extend dozens of temporary tax breaks.
The just-expired shelters -- for Hollywood filmmakers, rum producers and dozens of other constituent groups -- are a showcase for why the U.S.
tax code is so mind-numbingly complicated and overdue for simplification.
There are 55 breaks in all, costing taxpayers about $50 billion annually.
They are the essence of special-interest legislating.
Every year or two, lawmakers lament that the tax breaks are oh so expensive; anxious lobbyists attend their fundraisers over the recess, campaign checks in hand; when Congress resumes, lawmakers somehow find a way to pass the tax bill, adding a few new breaks on top of the perennials (all retroactive to Jan.
1, of course)."*
LIKE US CNNNEXT.COM/CNNNEXT
FOLLOW US TWITTER.COM/CNNNEXT.COM
