This is US tax time
I propose a special honor for the Turbotax company. Why? You ask. Well, American tax is arcane, complicated, and more than any other, incomprehensible. Whenever I begin to feel over-confident and self-assured I think of Federal tax and feel once again incompetent and not very bright. For thirteen years we have been using this program, and I still don’t understand the exemptions and regulations. I doubt that accountants do, either (certainly not how to treat foreign tax). For a nation that loathes tax in any form, the US Federal tax system is a standing scandal and a threat to liberty. The Republicans don’t like it because it goes towards education and social programs; the Democrats don’t like it because it goes to wears and corporate welfare. (or, more importantly, to the pocket). Compare this tax regimeb with the relatively simple British tax system, designed for actual human beings. A British tax return can be completed in hours; the American takes days.
Only Turbotax can help ease you through the angst and despair. Were it not for this software, there would be a revolution. Thus the company is more important than the FBI and all the other government agencies currently spying on us.
Epicureans should render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, but should expect a simple set of documents usable by the ordinary Jo. They won’t get them, of course.
An appallingly cynical friend called the US tax system the “US Accountants Maintenance and Welfare System”. It seems a huge proportion of people use accountants. It shouldn’t be necessary for the average person to spend 3, 4 , 5,000 dollars of hard-earned money to discover what you owe for taxes. Problem is the system is sclerotic – – there are too many vested interests involved in the present set-up (like going to war all the time to support the arms dealers), to stop, look at other systems, and reform
The best possible system would be the Fair Tax, proposed by Rep John Linder, of Ga. It would abolish the IRS and create a 23% national sales tax on newly purcased goods and services; everyone would recieve a check monthly for a specified amount for food, living expenses, etc, and the state sales tax division would collect the sales tax; It doesnt do away with any govt programs, including social security; it is simply a better way to collect revenues; it will never pass however, because of the accountants lobby in washington.
Well,the EU has VAT and this works very well. It is a tax on value added. Food and childrens clothing and some other items (depending on the country) are excluded. The economists seem to think it is the most efficient tax on consumption.
The other aspect of this is that, given the political will, it is quite possible to cut the paperwork, the excetions and the exemptions and get a simple system out of it. The British did this. I pay US and Uk taxes . It takes me an hour to do the UK taxes. Everything is in simple, plain English, and there is a friendly, helpful person whose phone number they give you should you need help. For instance, instead of depreciation on a rented property, you just take 10% of the income and put it in the appropriate box. As you say it is down to the accountants, but they did not prevail in the UK.