Comment by uticus | Hacker News Reader

Comment by uticus | Hacker News Reader

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As someone who files with the IRS, I would prefer an easy tax code over an easy way to file.

Messy tax code = +time/money required, +scared will be prosecuted for messing up something unintentionally, +loopholes available, +hire some more IRS staff & police

Easy & clear tax code = -time/money required, -scared will be prosecuted for messing up something unintentionally, -loopholes available, -hire some more IRS staff & police

(apologies for those who make their living via our complicated tax system. If you're in the IRS, I appreciate those who have been helpful but like cancer treatment centers I wish there wasn't a need for you)

  > scared will be prosecuted for messing up something unintentionally

Just to provide a data point on this, I have screwed up my taxes twice and been contacted a year later or so by the IRS with a letter informing me about the discrepancy and how much they thought I owed. In both cases (each time due to options cost basis issues) I hired a pro to refile and paid the extra tax plus a small penalty.

The IRS has pretty good customer support and gives people plenty of opportunity to correct mistakes. No one is getting prosecuted unless they are willfully and persistently evading taxes.

Yeah I agree but obviously the Congress is taking all sorts of bribes from the tax return lobby in order to make the code increasingly more and more complicated every year and thereby extort more money from us every year, the worst part is the psychological fear generated by this torturous tax return extortion system

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