[FullyFunctional]

I didn't point that out: I originate from a country in which I used to get a postcard summarizing what they thought I owed with a "Yes, I agree" checkbox and a field to sign. You could always file an extensive return if desired, but unless you had complicated (notably international) transactions, the return was basically accurate.

This only works because there's a high level of trust in the government and low corruption, and having detailed tracking isn't (very) controversial. The US is almost the exact opposite on every metric so it wouldn't work for it.

[pessimizer]

The US demands extremely detailed tracking of your income. We just get nothing in return for it.

[PopAlongKid]

>We just get nothing in return for it.

Maybe you don't, but a lot of wealthy people who can afford to hire tax professionals do. For example, how certain famous billionaires[0] have received billions of tax free income because they took the position that it could be classified as a certain type of income.

[0]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-24/peter-thi...

[hippich]

I am from the country where most people don't even have to agree to anything - their income taxes already handled by employer on behalf of the government before each paycheck. But there is very low trust in government and it is dictatorship...

I do not know if that was intentionally forced on citizens in the USA to do their own taxes (even tho IRS had accurate information from W3s for nearly half of payers) for that purpose, but I think such exposure to the behind scenes calculation of taxes might force citizens to be more aware of what they are paying.

For example, back to my home country - I think income tax is something like 11% or 13% today. And most folks see this tax on their pay stubs. But what they do not see (although some are aware of) - employer pays extra 36% of the salary into social security. In the USA employee sees at least half of it (6.20% of 12.40%). The health insurance premiums are also prominent on the tax return, same with retirement. None of that is visible in any form to employees in my home country.