this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2024
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Taxes are just a really long and complicated math worksheet
The IRS gives you a 100 page step-by-step manual, and only requires addition, subtraction, multiplication and (rarely) division. For someone who just has a W-2, you fill out one field for income and do the math for the tax bracket.
And why* can’t we just get a pre-filled tax return and confirm it yes/no?
Because that would hurt the poor b/c only the wealthy would still hire tax experts if tax returns were pre-filled.
Naw, the current system doesn’t hurt the poor at all!
*according to lobbyists like Intuit, maker of TurboTax
I think the bigger issue is that too many of the non-poor are willing to vote against their own interests. Europeans don't hate paying taxes, but they want it to be simple. Americans hate paying taxes, and too many of them can be conned into thinking that it's bad if the government makes it easier.