The Tax Simplification H&R Block Won't Allow: Let the I.R.S. Do It
AP had a Fact Check on Donald Trump's promise of a simplified tax form. The piece noted that the I.R.S. has had a simplified "1040EZ" form for decades and it is not clear that the form will be any shorter or simpler with the new tax law. It did correctly point out that many fewer people will itemize their deductions, which will make filing simpler for them.
It would have been worth pointing out that the Trump administration could have made the filing process much simpler but chose not to. It could have had the I.R.S. fill out people's tax forms for them. For the vast majority of people who take the standard deduction, the I.R.S. already has the information necessary to determine their tax liability.
This means the I.R.S. could fill out their forms and then send them to taxpayers for their review. If the person feels the I.R.S. made a mistake, they correct the form with the necessary documentation. Otherwise, they accept the refund calculated by the I.R.S. or pay the additional tax being assessed. This has been the practice in several European countries for decades.
The likely reason that Trump and the Republicans in Congress chose not to go this route is that it would wipe out H&R Block and other tax services and software companies who gets tens of billions of dollars in revenue each year from people doing their taxes. This seems the only plausible explanation, since it Trump and his team couldn't be that much more incompetent than the folks running tax agencies in other countries.
Extract from the Original article by Dean Baker , in CEPR .
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In France, the "IRS" does this.
There is no H&R Block, except for the very rich who of course have their tax havens and need specialists to get the most out of them. For us rabble, though... it's all taken care of.
Easy to accept. Much of the waste and apparent incompetence of government is related to choices based upon the influence of those with $$$. Our government has demonstrated (to my satisfaction - over decades) that we do not have a system that produces effective governance. It does, however, provide significant value to politicians, officials and (of course) to the $$$ behind the lobbyists.
No clue as to how to ever fix this.