Tax Poll: Two-thirds say federal taxes too complicated

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Whether they get money back or have to write checks to the IRS, most Americans think the federal tax system is too complicated, according to an Associated Press poll.

And the proportion who feel that way has grown significantly over the last three years to nearly two-thirds, the poll indicated.

The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges that an array of new tax credits, deductions and other changes in the law has lengthened by several hours the time it takes to complete an itemized return.

In a poll conducted for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa., 66 percent said the federal tax system is too complicated, and 28 percent said it's not. Three years ago, just under half in an AP poll said the tax system was too complicated.

More than half those surveyed, 56 percent, now pay someone else to do their tax returns, while 40 percent said they do their taxes themselves, the poll indicated.

"I don't think the average taxpayer should have to ... deal with the expense of having somebody else do their taxes," said John T. Adlon, a 60-year-old electrician in Fredericksburg, midway between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va.

A decade ago, said Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, the number who paid for tax help was a large portion of the population but was still a minority.

In the new poll, just over half said they think a flat tax would be a fairer way to tax Americans, while about four in 10 disagreed.

One-third of those polled said they would be willing to give up deductions to simplify the tax code, but people expecting refunds are less likely to want to do that.

Tax experts say the increasing number of people who have investments in the stock market has influenced the number who need professional tax help.

H&R Block, the nation's largest tax preparation business, reported this week that revenues rose nearly 20 percent in the first quarter compared with the corresponding period a year ago.

The deadline for filing tax returns is April 15, unless a taxpayer files an extension request.

Major problems for people who call H&R Block offices are tax credits for children, tax credits for education and capital gains taxes, said Linda McDougall, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Mo., company. Most of the rise in revenues is linked to additional business, not fee increases, she said.

H&R Block has targeted its advertising at the growing confusion faced by the public with ads asking: "We know. Do you?"

The IRS had to develop 11 new forms and revise 177 others just for this year as President Clinton and Congress pushed new tax credits for specific groups, changes in deductions and capital gains laws.

The complexity has driven Charles Embrey, a 40-year-old Fredericksburg factory worker, to start paying for tax help in recent years. Replacing the current system of graduated taxes with a flat tax is a tempting way to make things easier, he said, but he suspects a flat-tax system would go too easy on the rich.

"With my income, I don't prefer a flat tax," he said. "They charge me one rate and somebody making $70,000 or $80,000 a year would pay the same rate."

Six out of 10 in the AP poll said they expect to get a refund, while just over one-fourth say they must pay more than was taken out of their paychecks. A majority of both those who have to pay and those who are owed money by the IRS agreed that the system is too complicated.

The poll of 1,012 people was taken March 26-30 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The tax system is likely to just keep getting more complex, said J.D. Foster, executive director of the Tax Foundation.

"There's not much going on to go in the opposite direction," Foster said, although he noted the growing popularity of computer tax preparation programs has helped some.

Jean MacDonald, a 29-year-old librarian from Bloomington, Ill., and her sister, Maggie Bromenshenkel, a 34-year-old bank official from nearby Warrenton, complained the increasing tax credits are more political than helpful to them. They both want a simpler tax system, preferably a flat tax.

"We agree on something," Ms. Bromenshenkel exclaimed, laughing. "We're sisters, and we hardly ever agree on anything."