You must be sick of winning

Before tax reform, retailers and restaurant owners who remodeled their buildings could write off half the cost of the work during the year it was done, but the rest had to be depreciated over a lengthy 15 years.

[...]

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was supposed to address that issue by allowing retailers and restaurants to write off the full cost immediately, dramatically reducing the expense and making it far more likely that the projects — and the economic benefits that come with them — would go forward.

[...]

But in the rush toward passage, a mistake in wording meant the legislation failed to specify that stores and restaurants would be among the properties that qualify for the immediate write-off.

  The Hill

Are we sure that was a mistake?

That error defaulted improvements at stores and restaurants into a category meant for constructing the building itself, which lasts for decades and has to be depreciated over 39 years.

Given that restaurants and retail stores are typically remodeled every five to seven years to remain attractive to customers and competitive with other brands, even 15 years was too long.

And 39 years is unrealistic.

[...]

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have acknowledged the mistake and promised to correct it. Senate Finance Committee Republicans wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, saying they planned to pass technical corrections legislation and asking that the IRS pass temporary guidance in the meantime.

But nearly a year has passed since tax reform was enacted, and neither the IRS nor Congress has corrected the problem.

I ask again, are we sure it was a mistake?

In the meantime, countless remodeling projects have been put on hold, and a November deadline has now passed for retailers and restaurants to file tax returns, meaning thousands of amended returns will need to be filed even if the error is corrected after the fact.

This issue is about far more than store display cases and restaurant booths. The ripple effect of the delay has caused economic hardship for retailers, restaurants, the real estate industry and suppliers of building materials.

Not to mention construction workers.

Industries affected range from plumbing supplies to energy-efficient lighting. Even firefighters have expressed concern as upgrades of sprinkler systems are being delayed.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

They actually made a postcard size tax return

They said it, they did it, by God. Just look how happy that woman is.

Unfortunately, there's a hitch.

A new postcard-sized version of the income tax form leaves off a number of popular deductions, making taxpayers search for them on several accompanying worksheets.

The new form, set for release this week, includes six accompanying worksheets for deductions ranging from student loan interest to teaching supplies, according to a copy of the form obtained by The New York Times.

The postcard-sized form also includes a line for the expanded child tax credit but omits lines for other types of childcare.

[...]

"Next week, we will be unveiling the new 1040 [form], and it will be a postcard as we've promised, and hardworking taxpayers won't have to spend nearly as much time filling out their taxes," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at an event in the Capitol last week.

  The Hill

How is the final size of the form an improvement if you have to accompany it with reams of instructions and worksheets? I could make a form the size of a postage stamp: just put the final figure on it and sign with an X.

These people are all idiots. Every last one of them.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.