BASEBALL DEMONSTRATES FOLLY OF IRS CODE

It is possible, in a way, to glimpse into the convoluted maze of rules, regulations, guidelines, interpretations, best guesses and bureaucratic estimates otherwise known as the Internal Revenue Service Code. It all happened during this week of baseball history when someone at the IRS started thinking about THE ball, home run No. 62, which Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals would surely hit.

So far, fans have shown the best spirit of the home-run frenzy by presenting the ball to McGwire. Why? Each person had his own reasons, but most of all they saw the new home-run king as a good guy, someone who would really appreciate the gesture.

In anticipation that a generous fan would give back the ball from the record-setting home run, some IRS bureaucrat saw fit to warn that lucky fan that there might be a huge tax bill.

Why?

Because, the IRS said, the ball hit out of the park for home run No. 62 could be worth as much as a million dollars. And, as anyone familiar with the IRS Code knows, gifts valued at more than $625,000 are taxed for any value above that threshold.

So, according to the IRS, the person returning No. 62 to McGwire would immediately owe the U.S. government a tax on about $375,000 based on the million-dollar value of the ball. Roughly speaking, that would result in a tax of about $150,000.

Just for being nice.

As soon as word got around that the IRS had even contemplated such a silly idea, the reactions were swift and unanimous: This is really stupid.

It didn't take the IRS commissioner, Charles Rossotti, long to start backpedaling. Yes, he said, the IRS Code might be interpreted that way, if you were a real stickler. And, yes, that's a lot of tax to pay just for being nice. And, no, the IRS isn't going to try to collect taxes from anyone generous enough to give McGwire the record-setting ball.

It is interesting that something like this could set off an entire nation, many of whom don't even care about baseball. But everyone cares about taxes, and everyone was ready to do battle over this issue.

Sound familiar? All you have to do is recall a little history from colonial America. Good, honest people who for the most part didn't like to fight or even get into heated arguments were willing to lay down their lives because the government -- in faraway London -- was finding ways to tax that were just as offensive as the tax on a baseball.

Whenever there are calls -- and there are quite a few these days -- to abolish the IRS and its complicated code, just remember that the idea isn't as farfetched as many would have you believe. Perhaps it will take a few more well-struck home runs to get the point across. Taxation in America has become an unbearable burden. At what point will taxpayers rise up in defense of themselves the way they have for the generous fellow who gave back a ball to Mark McGwire?