Steve Forbes: US Tax Code Length
on Saturday, July 3, 2010Steve Forbes Money Quotation on the length of Tax Code compared to the far shorter length of Declaration of Independence and the Bible.c
“The Declaration of Independence, the words that launched our nation 1,300 words. The Bible, the word of God 773,000 words. The Tax Code, the words of politicians 7,000,000 words and growing!” — Steve Forbes
In this quote, Steve Forbes is drawing a comparison between important founding documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Bible to highlight the excessive length and complexity of the U.S. tax code. By noting that the Declaration of Independence contained only 1,300 words to establish the principles of the nation, and the Bible contains around 773,000 words as scripture, he then points out that the tax code now contains over 7 million words and continues growing in size each year.
Forbes seems to be criticizing how bloated and convoluted the tax system has become due to endless additions and revisions by politicians over time. His point is that something as foundational as how citizens are taxed has expanded far beyond what’s reasonably necessary to administer taxes, likely making the system unduly complicated and difficult for people to understand or follow.
Birthday: July 18, 1947 – Present