As millions of Americans scramble to file their tax returns, one group is protesting the complexity of the U.S. tax code by reading it out loud in front of the Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington on Tuesday.
The Tax Revolution Institute, a nonprofit advocating for a simpler and “voluntary” tax system, organized the protest and hopes members of the public will stop by their setup, complete with plush recliners, and help them read as much of the tax code as they can before sundown.
#ReadTheTaxCode Are you sitting comfortably? Then we shall begin. Outside #IRS building in D.C. now #taxday Less crazy than #taxcode itself pic.twitter.com/xYR6CPXsYV
— We Do Better (@TaxRevInstitute) April 18, 2017
“The purpose of the protest is to highlight the absurdity of the U.S. tax code,” says Dan Johnson, the executive director of the Tax Revolution Institute. “Few Americans can comprehend it, much less comply with it.”
Coming in at 74,608 pages in length, the U.S. tax code is the longest in the world. It has grown steadily over time, with most of the growth coming in the last 30 years. It has nearly tripled in length since 1984.
Tax Revolution Institute is calling on President Trump and Congress to reform the tax code by simplifying it, lowering the cost of tax compliance individuals and businesses face every year.
“Real reform means simplifying the tax code,” Johnson says.
The group is livestreaming their sedentary, but not silent, Tax Day protest. Asked how much of the voluminous code they expect to read before sundown, one Tax Revolution Institute staffer told the Washington Examiner: “We’d be lucky to get through 1 percent of it.”
When asked if they’ll get through reading all 74,000+ pages of the tax code by sundown @TaxRevInstitute says, “Oh heck no” #taxday pic.twitter.com/6IlIBK9uoA
— Victor I Nava (@victornava88) April 18, 2017
