Wait, Why Are American Taxes Still Like This?

The government could toss the 1040 in the trash.

Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.

It can be as simple as clicking a confirmation sent online by the government.

Even Reagan and Obama would have agreed that filing your taxes should be easier... So why isn’t it?

For millions of people with relatively simple tax situations, filing annual income taxes would be no more punishing than paying a parking ticket online.

What if we gave taxpayers a chance to allocate how their money is spent, or even bribed them with a thank-you gift?

You shouldn’t need TurboTax to file your taxes. The IRS can and should make its own service.

The United States needs to fix the tax code to incentivize fair and equitable economic decisions instead of perverse political ones.

Taxes are the least-popular aspect of modern civilization, but filing late—or not at all—is a big mistake.