What Do the Cash Method of Accounting and Sausages Have in Common?

Keywords

legislative process, political compromise, tax law drafting

Abstract

“Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.” (Although often attributed to Otto von Bismarck (the Iron Chancellor), this maxim was actually first made by lawyer-poet John Godfrey Saxe, quoted in the University Chronicle, p. 4 (March 27, 1869).)

Perhaps this statement has never been truer than it is today. The creation of tax laws in Washington is often labor-intensive and involves members of Congress, their staffs, special-interest groups, lobbyists, and other interested stakeholders. One can assume that if tax legislation is riddled with compromise, the actual negotiation and closed-door discussions that produce the laws are unfriendly and perhaps even hostile at times. As a result, the process of drafting tax laws is generally better left unseen.

Original Publication Citation

"What Do the Cash Method of Accounting and Sausages Have in Common?", The Tax Adviser, Volume October 2014, Pages 750-752, American Institute of CPAs, Durham, North Carolina, 2014

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2014

Publisher

The Tax Adviser

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Accountancy

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

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