WHY WE NEED TAX SIMPLIFICATION:

1. Even the pros make mistakes. Just ask Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who admits he failed to pay more than $34,000 in self-employment taxes between 2001 and 2004. Or Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House tax-writing committee, who neglected to report $75,000 worth of rental income from his Caribbean beach house. Geithner paid the back taxes and interest, but the IRS (which he now oversees) graciously waived the penalties. Rangel simply wrote a check for more than $10,000 in back taxes, and he hasn’t had to pay any penalties, either.

2. Ignorance is no excuse. Geithner used tax software (but admitted the error was his fault). Rangel attributed his unreported foreign-earned income to a “language barrier.” But it doesn’t matter. When you sign a tax return, whether you prepare it yourself or leave the number-crunching to a professional, you are responsible for the accuracy of your return and the consequences if you make a mistake.

But here’s why, under the current system, taxes are for the “little people:”

3. You won’t get off so easy. Most taxpayers who fail to file or pay their taxes on time face stiff penalties and interest charges.

A simpler system wouldn’t draw such a strong distinction between those with “juice” and ordinary folks. Which, of course, is why the folks with the juice like the current system so much.