Consumers remain disgruntled with tax process

04.20.09
By Lewis Green

With the often worrisome tax filing deadline - April 15 - just passed, many consumers are likely breathing a sigh of relief and others are anxiously awaiting a tax refund.

This year, many Americans are expected to spend some of their refund - good news for a struggling economy - but put a large chunk of it toward reducing credit debt and paying other pressing bills.

Now that tax season is a thing of the past and refund money has been earmarked for a variety of expenses, some might think that taxes were off the minds of busy Americans.

But a new survey by the Tax Foundation finds that opinions on the federal tax code are an ever present concern for consumers.

The national survey found that over 50 percent of U.S. adults consider federal income taxes to be "too high" and an overwhelming 85 percent said the tax code is complex. Nearly the same number of Americans think the whole system needs to be reworked.

Addressing the press on "tax day", President Obama agreed that the tax code has grown too confusing.

"We need to simplify a monstrous tax code that is far too complicated for most Americans to understand but just complicated enough for the insiders who know how to game the system," he said.

The President also took the opportunity on "tax day" to remind Americans about actions being taken by the government to offer families tax relief and to help make owning a home and sending kids to college more affordable.

According to survey results from the Tax Foundation, taxpaying adults on average thought they should pay 15.6 percent of income toward taxes, which is much lower than the group's estimate of the nation's actual average tax recouped - 28.2 percent of income.

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Complicated tax process weighs on already burdened consumers