The Secrecy And Swiftness Of This Tax Scam Will Be A Nightmare For IRS And Courts For Years

Besides being a horrendous bill in its own right, the GOP’s massive tax giveaway to the wealthy will also be a legal and regulatory nightmare that will we will all be dealing for years to come, a point that Washington Post reporter David Ignatius just made on MSNBC.

Because there was no regular order; because there were no hearings with expert testimony and analysis of the potential effects of the bill; because the bill was written almost entirely in secret; because parts of both the House and, particularly, the Senate version of the bill were marked up in pencil, often with unclear meaning, at the last minute; because the GOP totally ignored the normal process of legislation, especially on a bill that is so wide-ranging and that effects virtually every American, there is absolutely no trail of legislative intent for the IRS to write the actual regulations that will implement many parts of this bill and for the courts to understand what Congress intended to do when, and it is most assuredly when, certain issues come before the courts. That will create a legacy of chaos that our country will probably be dealing with until much of this bill is repealed or rewritten.