The Nation - News from Jan. 19, 1988

The Internal Revenue Service has decided that President Reagan’s proposal for a tax system in which most people would not have to file returns is not feasible. The idea, advanced by the President when he sent his tax-overhaul plan to Congress in May, 1985, would have allowed most taxpayers to simply verify the accuracy of a return prepared by the IRS. After a yearlong study, the IRS reported to Congress that “Under present conditions, large expenditures of resources would be needed to ensure that such a system would generate returns that were both accurate and timely.”