Elected officials’ taxes

There’s still talk in Washington, D.C., among Republicans of tax reform; however, after the U.S. House of Representatives’ failed attempt at health-care reform, and then its ridiculous punt of the AHCA to the U.S. Senate, one wonders if, after seven years, the Republican Party will ever get anywhere with health care or tax reform.

So I’d like to offer a simple solution for tax reform, simplification, and transparency. To qualify my solution, let me state that I’m a former CPA/ PFS, CFP with about 25 years of experience preparing individual and corporate tax returns.

Every elected official could be required to prepare his/her own tax return(s) by the due date(s) (they can’t hire someone to do it for them, whether they’re a county constable or the president of the United States), pay the taxes they owe by the due dates and then release their returns to their constituents immediately upon filing their returns.

Their returns are then audited by a separate service (not the IRS, that’s for us) that employs CPAs and enrolled agents who are not subject to congressional authority (something similar to the Consumer Financial Protection Board). If a dispute arises, it goes to a separate tax court. If additional taxes are due or fines are levied, the fines are triple what ordinary citizens pay because elected officials should be held to a higher standard.

If prospective elected officials can’t agree to these terms, they can’t file for election. And maybe that’s not a bad thing.

KYLE JOHNSON Prairie Grove