[AnotherGoodName]

I'm not from the USA but I live here now. I came from a country where you log into a government website and hit a button to confirm your return because your employer already typed it all in and sent it in earlier... The idea that you're printing out forms and filling them out is crazy. The idea that you have to type in numbers someone already has is crazy.

I don't think it's a case of people making free tax filing is difficult. It genuinely is far far harder than it has to be.

[sircastor]

One side of the political spectrum has argued that the government will take advantage of this to overcharge citizens. Which sort of treats the taxing entity as an unscrupulous business looking to make a quick buck.

[AmericanChopper]

I don’t think increasing compliance costs and complexity is part of any mainstream political ideology. It seems a lot more like a perverse special interest to me.

[nightski]

It's because everyone wants their situation to be special and get special tax breaks because of it. Don't get me wrong, Turbotax is scummy but the real truth is if a politician wants to eliminate "deductions" which is what makes taxes so complicated - then you get a large backlash because someone's taxes are getting increased.

The government can't automate it because a lot of these deductions are not things they can learn about looking at your W-2.