It's time to simplify the tax code: #tellusatoday

The House has passed a bill extending dozens of tax breaks that will cost more than $40 billion over 10 years.

Letter edited for clarity and grammar:

Paste BN's editorial that the lame-duck Congress should find ways to simplify the tax code is ridiculous ("What tax extenders cost you," Our view). Current exemptions should be extended so those who have planned their tax strategy since January won't be blindsided in the final month of the year! Citizens spoke and threw out a good number of members of Congress. Those lawmakers have no business voting on such major legislation.

The new Congress can revisit the tax code next year and work out a well-thought-out plan to simplify tax laws.

Michael Caserta; Fairfield, Conn.

Facebook comments edited for clarity and grammar:

Not extending these tax breaks would be a good first step in improving the tax code and reducing complexity.

Employers have not done a good job of adding jobs to our economy.

—Donald Wade

Paying for these tax breaks adds to our national debt, which is now $18 trillion. Where does all this money actually go? Imagine your family getting deeper in debt every year. You'd be humiliated. Why does the government not understand that debt is servitude? It's getting depressing, whether one is a Democrat or Republican.

—Gerald Spradlin

Any fix to address the debt would require both increased taxes on us all and serious spending cuts. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, wants spending cuts. And Democrats imply taxing the rich will solve everything, which is also wrong. Going forward, spending on entitlements and interest on the debt will soon take most tax revenue, and taxing corporations and the wealthy alone cannot fix that.

My point is that the situation is way more serious than most folks realize. Many people do not understand that our situation is not sustainable.

—Peter Stein

We asked followers whether reducing taxes via breaks was better than simplifying the tax code.

Twitter comments edited for clarity and grammar:

Simplify the tax code! Tax breaks are nice but only a temporary solution.

—@tami_isms

The problem is twofold: We want activity from start-ups, which means we want lower taxes. But we also want to deal with monopolies, which may mean increasing taxes.

—@system_top

Implement the "Fair Tax," a national sales tax.

—@KitDuluCa

Simplify the tax code by removing endless number of loopholes. Make wealthy pay more, and decrease burden on poor and middle class.

—@RaeJean9

For more of this discussion, follow @USATOpinion or #tellusatoday on Twitter.