I was recently given the opportunity to write music for the upcoming documentary film An Inconvenient Tax! Put on by Life is my Movie Entertainment and Observer Productions, details of the film below, also check out aninconvenienttax.com for more details about the film!




Broken. Inefficient. Faulty. Incomprehensible. Inconvenient. These are the words used to describe an archaic machine badly in need of repair. Similarly, these are the words most often used by experts and politicians to describe the way America pays for itself: the Tax Code. When Ronald Reagan passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the plan was a united effort to simplify America's tax code and the last policy of its kind. It lowered rates and reduced the number of tax breaks and loopholes used by corporations to gain unfair tax advantages. However, since Reagan's act was passed, over 16,000 changes have been made to the Tax Code, resulting in a document over 66,000 pages in length. Loopholes were reopened, as politicians caved to special interest groups and lobbyists for campaign money. Exemptions were created, making the system increasingly complex. Codes and regulations were passed, squashing the middle class and further widening the class divide. The result is a system of taxation that even tax professionals don't fully understand. With President Bush's tax cuts expiring in 2010, and the baby boomer generation increasingly drawing Social Security, the economic crisis is ballooning at an alarming rate. An Inconvenient Tax sheds light on one of America's messiest problems: a fundamentally broken Tax Code that affects everything you touch and the imminent need for reform! How can the system be both fair and simple? Should the emphasis be on taxing consumption or income? Is a progressive or more neutral plan better suited to our country? Can a unified solution come before the balloon pops? In an ever-changing global economy, An Inconvenient Tax explores these and other problems to paint a portrait of a nation in search an answer to the ultimate question…

What is America's identity?

Finding this answer is the crux of An Inconvenient Tax, a documentary like no other. More than just an educational talk piece, An Inconvenient Tax, is a nonpartisan, comprehensive look at the proposed solutions to the country's tax problems. The canvas is a world where every economic decision has a clear winner and loser, and the only thing that all parties can agree on, is the need for parity. Supporters of proposed solutions, including Fair Tax, Flat Tax, Value Added Tax, and others, are given room to further illustrate the diversity of thought of a country pinched under the thumb of taxation. The list of interviewees includes: entrepreneur Steve Forbes, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, philosopher Noam Chomsky, radio host Neal Boortz, and former IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti. These expert insights, as well as a slew of other economists, tax policy makers, politicians, and average citizens speak candidly without losing the viewer in a sea of jargon. The film weaves together the pointed interviews with archival footage, political cartoons, and narrative symbolism to create a layered and fast-pace think piece that is sure to open eyes.

The goal of An Inconvenient Tax, born out of grassroots ideology, is to enlighten the public to an issue that, because of its sheer complexity, has been swept under the carpet for far too long. An Inconvenient Tax informs without boring, entertains without agenda, and raises awareness without belaboring. America's identity is being stifled by political agenda, bureaucratic inefficiency, and a definitive lack of knowledge by its citizens. By indicting the current tax system, the film sets the template to affect change. The film puts the impetus on the viewer to research the solutions, in hopes of fostering a unification of ideals, in order to find an appropriate identity. Upon that discovery, it is possible to learn from the past and create a system of taxation that benefits the future. However, without a collective solution, the future is murky at best. The time for change is right now, however it's the choice that isn't clear. An Inconvenient Tax seeks to clear up the picture.