> But the US government lets you apply many more deductions after taking either of these and that is where the complexity comes. I feel you've missed my point.

> But the US government lets you apply many more deductions after taking either of these and that is where the complexity comes. I feel you've missed my point. Most countries offer the ability to consolidate some deductions into a standard deduction. But in Taiwan they consolidate ALL the deductions, as far as memory serves; and the way they do it isn't a fixed amount (e.g. 5%) but the sum of what the other people achieve who go the long route, plus a bonus. So literally it's 1-page 'sign here', or a complex form. And it's literally a statistically 'guaranteed' win if you make things easy on everyone (average + 10%). The US doesn't offer anything like that.