ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997 TAG: 9702110016
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Congressional Republican leaders, citing the ``abysmal quality'' of the Internal Revenue Service's management of the tax system, urged President Clinton on Sunday to come up with a broad tax overhaul by May 1.
In a letter to Clinton, the top Republicans said they wanted a proposal for a tax system that would be simpler, fairer, less intrusive, pro-growth and flexible to technological change.
The tax code, they said, ``has grown so horribly complex that many Americans despair that only someone with advanced degrees can even hope to figure it out.''
The Republican leaders said continued trouble with an IRS $4billion computer modernization program ``has a direct correlation to the abysmal quality of the agency's service to the nation's taxpayers.''
The new computer ``can't cope with the complexities of the system,'' said Rep. William Archer, R-Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
``It's not just the IRS. It's the system that's got to be changed, and we hope that he'll accommodate that,'' Archer said on ``Face the Nation'' on CBS.
Archer signed the letter along with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Senate Majority Whip Don Nickles and Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth.
Clinton has agreed that the IRS needs to manage the tax system better but has rejected GOP proposals for a flat tax or for replacing the income tax with a national sales tax.
White House spokesman Barry Toiv said Sunday that Clinton wants to ease tax burdens through such means as electronic or telephone filing, simplifying pensions for small businesses, and tax breaks for families with children.
``If the Republican leadership has other ideas, we're certainly prepared to listen,'' Toiv said. ``But between now and the spring, we hope to be enacting the president's balanced budget and tax relief plan.''
Jack Kemp, Bob Dole's running mate on the last fall's losing Republican ticket, said on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' the country should ``get rid of the IRS as we know it. We need tax reform in America so that working-class families can get true, permanent tax relief and we can get this economy growing again.''
Republicans also took issue with Clinton's plans to cut taxes by $98billion as part of his blueprint for balancing the budget by 2002.
Clinton's tax cuts provide $500-a-child tax relief, tax breaks for college students, and an elimination of capital gains taxes for most people who sell their homes.
They ``are too targeted and too small,'' Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said on CNN's ``Late Edition.''
Archer too said the president's suggestions didn't go far enough. Republicans are seeking about twice as much in tax relief, and ``the bigger the number, the better,'' Archer said.
The administration's point man on the budget, Office of Management and Budget director Franklin Raines, said Republicans haven't explained how they would pay for their proposed tax cuts. ``We are willing to listen,'' Raines said, ``and we think the American people want us to work out an agreement here in a professional manner.''
LENGTH: Medium: 64 linesby CNB