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If the government made it easy, the default tax form would give no benefit to the taxpayer. Many uneducated people would just hand it in and not have any write

If the government made it easy, the default tax form would give no benefit to the taxpayer. Many uneducated people would just hand it in and not have any write offs/deductions anyway. By making it require a small amount of effort, people are forced to take a look at what they are paying. People with money/educated about taxes would actually take the time to fill out the forms and benefit from deductions. It wouldn't really make that much of a difference. I also am wondering what is so difficult about taxes now? Most people with 1 or 2 jobs just need to fill out a 1040 form, which takes an hour or two at most, and send it in. I really don't think we benefit society by catering to an uneducated/indifferent populace.

kalleboo 7y ago
Part of the problem is of course the convoluted tax code in the US with all the very specific deductions and odd cases, where other countries may have much more simplified tax codes to avoid the problem completely.
JohnFen 7y ago
I don't understand your argument at all. You seem to be arguing that making taxes difficult is a good thing because it's educational? I disagree. All it does is increase the time and expense of doing taxes. > People with money/educated about taxes would actually take the time to fill out the forms and benefit from deductions. I don't think this is universally true. People will do a cost/benefit on this stuff. For some people, it will be worth the tradeoff required to maximally reduce taxes. For others, it absolutely is not. Why penalize the latter group? > I really don't think we benefit society by catering to an uneducated/indifferent populace. It's not catering to a specific group, it's avoiding penalizing that group. From my point of view, intentionally making taxes complex really amounts to an additional unwarranted tax on people.

kalleboo 7y ago

Part of the problem is of course the convoluted tax code in the US with all the very specific deductions and odd cases, where other countries may have much more simplified tax codes to avoid the problem completely.

JohnFen 7y ago

I don't understand your argument at all. You seem to be arguing that making taxes difficult is a good thing because it's educational? I disagree. All it does is increase the time and expense of doing taxes. > People with money/educated about taxes would actually take the time to fill out the forms and benefit from deductions. I don't think this is universally true. People will do a cost/benefit on this stuff. For some people, it will be worth the tradeoff required to maximally reduce taxes. For others, it absolutely is not. Why penalize the latter group? > I really don't think we benefit society by catering to an uneducated/indifferent populace. It's not catering to a specific group, it's avoiding penalizing that group. From my point of view, intentionally making taxes complex really amounts to an additional unwarranted tax on people.