Donald Rumsfeld, former secretary of defense, said in a letter to the IRS he can’t guarantee his tax return is accurate because the tax code is so complicated.
“That I and most Americans have no idea whether our taxes are accurate tells us something,” tweeted Rumsfeld, along with a picture of the letter.
“As in prior years, it is important for you to know that I have absolutely no idea whether our tax returns and our tax payments are accurate,” Rumsfeld wrote in the letter, noting he and his wife are both college-educated.
“I do hope that at some point in my lifetime, and I am now in my 80’s, so there are not many years left, the U.S. government will simplify the U.S. tax code,” Rumsfeld added, “so that those citizens who sincerely want to pay what they should, are able to do it right, and know that they have done it right.”
Rumsfeld served as secretary of defense in the Gerald Ford and George W. Bush administrations and as Ford’s chief of staff, and also served four terms in Congress representing Illinois. He graduated from Princeton University.
See the full letter:
That I & most Americans have no idea whether our taxes are accurate tells us something. My annual letter to the #IRS: pic.twitter.com/BFh0AXTvAk
— Donald Rumsfeld (@RumsfeldOffice) April 15, 2014