H&R Block At Home is profitable because most people don’t like to do their own taxes. So, it seems weird that the company is all in favor of making the 74,000 page tax code easier to understand. The CEO of H&R Block Advisors, Bill Cobb, supports deliberations that are underway to make this happen.
He spoke on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” and said that there are things that can be done to simply the code. But he also said that it doesn’t make sense splitting up the code just because it is too hard to understand.
But on the other hand, the Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, says that he wants to make H&R Block go out of business by streamlining the whole tax system via neutral revenue options.
But Cobb thinks that before going for something that drastic, the government has to determine how social programs are going to be administered. He says that every social program under the sun is linked to the tax code. He claims that the rates are not the problem. Refundable credits are what make the code so complicated.
Cobb stressed that the amount of money taxpayers receive from the government is all that matters for a majority of the population. The average refund in the United States is around $3,000, and this is very important to the average person. It is considered a reward for working so hard during the year. Cobb says that there are two busy seasons in the United States. The first is during April when everyone is scrambling to file their taxes. The second is during the end of January when the refund period begins.
H&R Block Advisors
Recently Cobb rung the opening bell on Wall Street. He was also there to get exposure for H&R Block’s new service called Block Advisors. This branch of the company deals with tax prep for small companies, difficult tax returns and financial planning.
Why Taxes Are So Complex
One of the reasons that the tax system is complex is that it’s also versatile. Congress uses it to provide benefits for specific groups. It is also in place to maintain a level of efficiency and integrity. Some people ask, “Why are taxes so complicated?” The answer is that they need to be.
As the years progress, the tax system seems to change and get more complex than it was the year before. Do you wonder why that is? Why does it never seem to get easier? Everything else gets easier with time.
A head tax would be a simple tax, but it would not be a respecter of persons.
Many citizens believe in and desire a fair tax system. They want it simple, but the simplicity may bring loss.
Most countries have taxes that change according to the characteristics of individual tax payers. The system seems fair and just.
