U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn is wrapping up his tenure in Congress with the release of a "Tax Decoder" report that criticizes hundreds of billions of dollars in federal tax expenditures, often for what he says are wealthy individuals and businesses.
Coburn held a news conference Tuesday in Washington for the release of the 320-page report that highlights tax fraud and the increasingly complicated nature of the federal tax code.
"There is no shortage of tax subsidies for the rich and famous, such as credits to renovate vacation homes and purchase luxury cars and deductions for yachts," Coburn said. "Ideally, Congress would throw out the entire tax code and start over, but at the very least the code should be made simpler, fairer and flatter. This report provides a list of options for Congress to streamline and simplify the tax code to achieve that goal."
Oklahoma's junior U.S. senator who is retiring after 16 years in the U.S. House and Senate, Coburn has long pushed to streamline and simplify the tax code, and says many of the tax breaks identified in his report should be eliminated.
Among the tax write-offs highlighted in the report are for the purchase of sports franchises, movie production, and gambling losses.
______________________________________
KGOU produces journalism in the public interest, essential to an informed electorate. Help support informative, in-depth journalism with a donation online, or contact our Membership department.
