4 ms·

I do agree, that ultimately there are several deductions that can reduce the taxes you owe in a given year. But most americans don't have enough of these deduct

I do agree, that ultimately there are several deductions that can reduce the taxes you owe in a given year. But most americans don't have enough of these deductions to make a significant difference. So the ideal solution would be that the IRS sends you a letter in January that basically says "You made $XX,XXX this year, you are in YYY tax bracket, and thus you owe $ZZ,ZZZ money". So if they sent that in January, then Americans could have until April 15th to either send a check for the amount owed or to send back an approval for the refund. For most people, the amount the IRS sends us will be accurate. But if you do want to submit additional deductions then there could be a deduction form you fill out that takes the IRS' total and submits deductions against it. Again, most Americans would not need to do anything. Self-employed individuals or individuals with many investments or donations might need submit additional information. But this would be the minority. Most people honestly could just agree with the IRS' determined amount due.

craftinator 7y ago
I have had a similar thought in mind for years!
lutorm 7y ago
This is how it works in Sweden, at least for people with reasonably simple situations: You get a piece of paper saying "this is what we think you made and how much taxes you should pay". Unless some reporting is wrong, you just log on to the tax website and approve it. They also keep a running tab on your tax account, if you underpay or overpay you have an interest-yielding balance that you can either correct or let sit until next year if the amount is so little it doesn't matter. And it's symmetric with respect to a surplus or deficit, unlike the IRS "if we owe you, then thanks for the zero-interest loan you gave us, but if you owe us then there will be interest and possibly penalties" scheme.

craftinator 7y ago

I have had a similar thought in mind for years!

lutorm 7y ago

This is how it works in Sweden, at least for people with reasonably simple situations: You get a piece of paper saying "this is what we think you made and how much taxes you should pay". Unless some reporting is wrong, you just log on to the tax website and approve it. They also keep a running tab on your tax account, if you underpay or overpay you have an interest-yielding balance that you can either correct or let sit until next year if the amount is so little it doesn't matter. And it's symmetric with respect to a surplus or deficit, unlike the IRS "if we owe you, then thanks for the zero-interest loan you gave us, but if you owe us then there will be interest and possibly penalties" scheme.