IRS Commissioner Does Not Do His Own Taxes

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said in an interview that he does not prepare his own taxes because he finds the tax code "complex." The commissioner's admission came in an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, which aired Sunday night.

Shulman appeared on the program to discuss the agency's new initiative to regulate professional tax preparers, including setting minimum standards for people who do other people's taxes. Midway through the interview, Steve Scully, the C-SPAN host, asked Shulman if he prepares his own taxes. Shulman smiled slightly and said, "I use a preparer."

Scully asked why, to which Shulman smiled and said, "Uh, I've used one for years. I find it convenient and I find the tax code complex, so I use a preparer."

When Scully asked how Shulman would make the tax code less complex, the commissioner, now clearly uncomfortable, said, "I don't write the tax laws. Congress writes the tax laws. It's a whole different discussion."

Shulman is far from the only American who needs professional help leading up to April 15. According to the IRS, 60 percent of Americans pay an accountant or a tax preparing service to do their taxes for them, while another 20 percent use tax preparation software to prepare their returns.

During Tim Geithner's contentious confirmation hearing for Treasury Secretary last year, Geitner said that he, too, relies on outside help to file his taxes, but he did not blame TurboTax for failing to flag the problems with his tax returns that got him in hot water with the Senate.