Abolish the IRS—and the income tax too

Americans spent an estimated $133 billion filing their tax returns in 2024 , according to a report by the Taxpayers Union Foundation .

Peter Bergen : Americans spent 6.5 billion hours preparing and filing, an additional opportunity cost of more than $280 billion .

He says the tax code is complex, with voluminous layers of deductions and qualifications, and the IRS can be weaponized against anyone.

Bergen says the agency's history does not justify giving it the benefit of the doubt.