Milton Friedman on why US tax reform is difficult

HN commenters cite it whenever a thread touches on tax complexity, loopholes, or why companies like Intuit benefit from a convoluted tax system.

Milton Friedman explains why the US tax code is enormously complex and why meaningful reform is unlikely. He argues that politicians profit from the complexity, since tax breaks are products they sell and the code works as a tool of reward and punishment. The clip is about 14 minutes from his lecture series.