Why Our Tax Laws Will Never Be Simplified.

Instapundit links to a smackdown of Sen. Grassley‘s take on “incompetent tax preparers,” where the honorable Senator says:

Any Joe can hang a shingle and prepare income tax returns. There are no requirements at all,” Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said. “It’s incredible that we have legal requirements for a barber to cut your hair, but there are no requirements for someone to prepare your taxes. Americans have a right to expect that when they hire a tax preparer they’re going to get honest, straightforward advice.

Others have noted that advice from the IRS is no more reliable than advice from “any Joe.” Still more have advocated gutting the tax code and going with a “Fair” tax or a flat tax or a consumption tax.

Never going to happen.

This is why:

It’s the only power Congress really has. They’re not going to give it up, short of being at gunpoint.