Government Plainly Spoken Here
Dateline: 06/05/98
In his June 1 memorandum to the heads of all Executive Level Agencies and Departments, President Clinton orders the following:
"By October 1, 1998, use plain language in all new documents, other than regulations, that explain how to obtain a benefit or service or how to comply with a requirement you administer or enforce. For example, these documents may include letters, forms, notices, and instructions. By January 1, 2002, all such documents created prior to October 1, 1998, must also be in plain language."
Now, before you get all excited and fire your tax lawyers and accountants, read that again. Notice the “...other than regulations,...” loophole. In plain language, this means that in 2002, the Tax Code will still include terse little passages like...
"A child's share of any allocable parental tax of a parent shall be equal to an amount which bears the same ratio to the total allocable parental tax as the child's net unearned income bears to the aggregate net unearned income of all children of such parent to whom this subsection applies."
Ain't that a bear? Probably means "Send more money."
While actual regulations, like the Tax Code itself, won’t have to be re-written, instructions and the forms about which they instruct us will. Maybe by 2002, a few scattered bands of gifted Americans will actually understand how to do Earned Income Credit. Nah, probably not. The IRS, you see, contends that its instructions and forms already are written in plain language, such as the following from the ever so plain "IRA Deduction Worksheet -- Line 23 (keep for your records)"
"On line 10a, enter the smallest of line 7, line 8, or line 9a. On line 10b, enter the smallest of line 7, line 8, or line 9b. This is the most you can deduct. Add the amounts on lines 10a and 10b and enter the total on Form 1040, line 23. Or if you want, you may deduct a smaller amount and treat the rest as a non-deductible contribution (see form 8608)."
And, taken a word at a time, they are plain words. Mostly one and two syllables. But, the arrangement? Well, not so plain at all.
Now, before you get the idea that I've singled out the IRS as being the exclusive home of bureau-babble, here's an non-IRS example that I just love...
"...(1) the term 'Woodsy Owl' means the name and representation of a fanciful owl, who wears slacks (forest green when colored), a belt (brown when colored), and a Robin Hood style hat (forest green when colored) with a feather (red when colored), and who furthers the slogan, 'Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute', originated by the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture..."
...as plainly stated in 16 USC Sec. 580p means that, unless the Forest Services says you can do it, dressing up like Woodsy Owl for money can get you a very non-fanciful six months in jail wearing cotton overalls (day-glo orange when colored). (18 USC Sec. 711a)
The point is, that heads of most federal agencies reading the President's mandate will say, "We already did that!" To career bureaucrats, the current language of government is plain in the same way the language of medicine is plain to doctors. So, while the President's demands for plain language is certainly a commendable effort, please don't expect to open up next year's 1040 instruction booklet and instantly holler, "Oh, yeah! Now I get it."
Want to see some really simple income tax plans?
Army-Shelby Flat Tax
Proposal
National Retail Sales Tax Act
plan.
Link Credits:
A special thanks to Cornell Law for the links to the US Code. Cornell maintains
a great online version of the US Code at:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
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