FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill welcomed the release of the Joint Committee on Taxation Study on Tax Simplification:

I welcome the Joint Committee on Taxation's study of complexity in the tax code. The study points out the seriousness of complexity and the corrosive impact it has on the tax system. It makes clear that there is a desperate need for reform. The code today encompasses 9,500 pages of very small print. While every word in the code has some justification, in its entirety it is an abomination. It imposes $150 billion or more of annual cost on our society with no value creation. Taxpayers are forced to spend too much time and money trying to comply with the tax laws. We are worthy of better. Once the President's tax cut is passed, we should turn next to more fundamental reforms to greatly simplify and minimize the effect the tax system has on both individual taxpayers and businesses.