Nov. 18--News flash: The Internal Revenue Service made an error in setting up President Barack Obama's tax credit meant to boost our sour economy. According to the Associated Press, more than 15 million taxpayers now owe the feds $250 or more.

Oh, wait a minute. That's not such big news after all. In fact, it is par for the course and an example of how intricate, confusing, contradictory and silly our tax laws have become.

It also is another lesson in how this gargantuan federal agency is bound to make mistakes that cost Americans money.

Consider the gaffe just last year, when the AP reported the IRS missed sending a $300 per child tax rebate to up to 350,000 households. To its credit, the agency made good on the goof and sent out the missing checks.

But such a fix is not in store for victims of this year's mistake. Apparently the IRS made errors in setting up payroll withholding tables. As a result, some wage earners received a bigger tax break than allowed by law. Now these taxpayers must pay back the money.

The AP story offers this scenario: Individuals with more than one job and married couples in which both spouses work may have to repay the government $400, either through a smaller tax refund or a larger tax bill. That's according to a report released Monday by the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.

The consequences of this error go beyond 15 million irked taxpayers and their families. It is another dent in Americans' waning confidence in government.

Granted, everyone makes mistakes. It is the baggage that goes along with being human. But when feds make mistakes, it hits millions.

This blunder also comes as Congress is considering health care reform, an undertaking that, if not done correctly, will cost Americans hundreds of billions in added taxes and give birth to a federal bureaucracy that will make IRS regulations look like a kid's card game.

Does anyone really believe Washington can get it right?

Tom Bell Editor & Publisher 822-1491 tbell@salina.com

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