tbg@apollo.uucp (Tom Gross) (07/08/86)
OH NOOOOOOO!
It looks like I was unsuccessful in my attempts
to retract my article of last thursday about the
size of the IRS budget and the "interest on the
public debt". Right after I posted it I realized
I had said "millions" everywhere I should have said
"billions". I'm sure most people would notice this,
although I still find it somewhat mindboggling to
realize that the IRS budget is over $6 BILLION
dollars, or $1.25 for every human being alive.
Anyway, in 1984 the interest on the public debt was
$153 BILLION, not MILLION.
With our current deficit at about $200 BILLION,
I still say it is ridiculous to think that tax reform
itself will reduce the deficit significantly just EITHER
by reducing IRS paperwork alone or expecting people to
not cheat as much, which is simply another way of saying
you think people are actually going to pay significantly
more in taxes because they have less incentive to avoid
paying taxes, whatever that means. Is the notion that
tax reform is supposed to be "revenue neutral" just a
sham?
Tom Gross
Apollo Computer, Inc.
Chelmsford, MA