There’s a Tax Season Villain, and It’s Not the I.R.S. | NYT Opinion

It’s the most miserable time of the year: tax season.

Americans are about to spend millions of hours and billions of dollars filing their federal income taxes, and they are pretty sure they know who is responsible for their pain: The misanthropes at the Internal Revenue Service.

But we’re here to convince you that the I.R.S. is not the problem.

Yes, it should be easy to file taxes. And yes, it should be free. That’s how it works in the rest of the developed world, and it could very easily work that way here, too. It is absurd that America’s tax system is so antiquated and complicated that most people must pay someone else to help them pay the government.

So what is standing in the way of progress?

Watch.

----------
Whether it's reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, New York Times video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world. It's all the news that's fit to watch.

[johnnyharris]

Love working with the Times. I always learn a ton. Thanks for this great collab!

[mahzabinmannan]

America needs to stop sugarcoating the term "bribery" to lobbying.

[ciaobella]

I got a turbotax ad before this video lmao

[jimdoe]

Why is this not a bigger story? In 2013 while going to school for Accounting, I had to study the various tax systems in different countries. It's an open secret that the U.S. keeps taxes complex for tax service companies --- at the U.S. citizens' expense.

[Hannahbenowitz]

The financial system has been artificially pumped for over a decade to ensure big pockets were lined; and now those same hands will make a fortune in the largest transfer of wealth in human history by shorting it on the way down. Inflation does have a roll, but that's to keep everyone panicked, and focused on their bills and expenses, rather than focus on the capital crimes of politicians and corporations, I'm still at a crossroads deciding if to liquidate my $338k stock portfolio, what’s the best way to take advantage of this bear market??

[Vivek-zwex]

I moved out from the US to Malaysia 10 years ago. In Malaysia, I filed my taxes by going to the government portal, my income details were automatically populated from my tax ID number, and I just had to enter in any deductions I was eligible to claim. It literally took 5 minutes and I was done.

From Malaysia, I moved to the UK. In the UK, I don't even have to do that. Taxes are automatically deducted based on my earnings, to the exact penny, and there's no need to file any sort of return whatsoever. There's a separate government portal for claiming deductions, and you can claim for up to the last five tax years at once.

The USA is living in the 1800s.

[laurarincon]

Do people actually think that the rest of the world files taxes the same way?!
I was shocked when I moved to the US and people explained taxes and returns to me. Also, apparently people think about tax refunds as “free money”. No, it’s an interest free loan you gave the government.

[PremSteve-ygde]

Market is down still, I've been looking up strategies and apparently both bull and bear market condition provides equal avenue to accrue massive gains, and a news article particularly mentioned a 54 year old that made $180k in 5weeks, how do I learn these strategies, my portfolio has been stagnant for months.

[aheroictaxidriver]

This is simple: we have TWO political parties, that BOTH work for the corporations, and NEITHER works for the people.

[ssbohio]

"But the tax preparers and accountants will be out of work." They can do productive work instead. It's not an insurmountable obstacle. Changing jobs is possible.

[ritokazoriv]

The Dutch tax authority's slogan is: "we cannot make it more pleasant, but we can make it easier"

[ericcarlson]

I became aware of these issues several years ago. Since then, I have done my taxes by hand. For me, the hassle of doing the calculations myself is more than offset by knowing that I am denying corrupt companies my money, which they will use to buy off lawmakers to make life worse for everyone. My hatred of corruption is the fuel that keeps me going when taxes get annoying to do.

[shimwce]

As an american who’s lived and worked in Germany and the UK, I have realized that the concept of a default tax refund is also very American. These countries operate on a pay as you go tax system where the taxes taken from your salary are always up to date. Americans are essentially giving an interest-free loan to the government and (currently) forced to pay to file to get it back. If we assume an average tax refund of $1, 200, that’s $100 too much given to the IRS each month that could have been spent on bills, investments, etc. which is held hostage until most people pay TurboTax for the luxury of getting it back. Here in Europe, in most cases, people with one full time job have no requirement to file complicated tax forms and don’t get a refund because they were already taxed accurately from the start. Then there’s the fact that Americans abroad still need to file their taxes to avoid penalties and risk being double-taxed, even if they don’t live or work there, which is a whole different can of worms.

[TheOMT]

"It has made an industry out of something that ought to be a public service."

This is at the core of so, so many of the Western world's social problems.

[lseh]

When my daughter was 6 years old, I heard her walk down our hallway, angrily exclaiming, “I hate taxes!!!” Trying not to laugh, I ran after her and asked her why, to which she responded, “Because it makes you and Baba fight.” 😂. I told her we were simply intense, trying to get our paperwork in order. Still, she walked away muttering, “I still hate taxes!”

[Myst]

yet again, the big solution that no one has the BALLS to actually DO is to make lobbying illegal and stop allowing deep pockets to affect policymaking

[xavier_lucas]

I am 53 and retired at 50. 1 thing I did do to retire early was to get out of the 401K and IRA programs. Bought rental real-estate and I am now a Limited Partner in about 3500+ units. I do not work.

[cjrreid]

The huge part this video didn't mention was that H&R Block and Intuit are huge proponents of *_why_* the tax code is so complicated in the first place. They don't only lobby *_against_* public service tax filing, they also lobby *_for_* any changes that could make the tax code more confusing.

[waikikinz]

As a non American, I am surprised how one single company could bribe (or lobby?) and continue annoying all tax payers just to make money... what the heck ? And why no politician have enough balls to make this stop ?

[therealuncleowen]

This story is similar to the way private health insurance companies provide a service at much higher cost to Americans then the government could provide it for. Their profits hurt most Americans.