Filing taxes in the United States is intentionally difficult and confusing because lobbying firms for companies like Intuit and H&R Block spend millions of dollars ensuring the system remains a convoluted nightmare.

A closer look

Filing taxes in the United States is intentionally difficult and confusing because lobbying firms for companies like Intuit and H&R Block spend millions of dollars ensuring the system remains a convoluted nightmare. The Internal Revenue Service already knows exactly how much you owe and could just send you a simple bill, which is exactly how almost every other developed nation handles income tax. Instead, we are forced to guess a mysterious number under the threat of federal audits and massive fines just so software companies can legally extort thirty bucks from us every April. It is basically an annual state-sponsored shakedown designed specifically to protect the profit margins of corporate tax preparers