[TomOfTTB]

I'm reminded of the phrase...

"never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity"

Honestly I'd like to believe there's some secret Government cabal out there finding indirect ways to drain people because at least then I'd know Government can do something competently. I mean, even if Government’s doing a bad thing competently we can fight to change that.

But I think the reality is that big bureaucracies end up creating so many rules and regulations that not even they can sort it out. Which is why we have such a complex tax code in the first place and why Government has to force each citizen to do their own taxes.

[staticshock]

It's my understanding that the tax code is complicated because we are a loophole abusing people, and we must be handled with kid gloves. It's not just a matter of "chaos and stupidity breeding new bureaucracy." The goal is more noble: create a system that can't be gamed but is flexible enough to account for every exchange of money, as well as many non-monetary exchanges of some value.

[TomOfTTB]

Consider this though: Maybe congress thinking it can create a system that accounts for every exchange of money and not have loopholes is the stupidity.

I personally think most bureaucracy starts out with good intentions. The tax code included. But with every well intentioned law to close a loophole they added more and more complexity and therefore more and more possible loopholes.

[staticshock]

What's the alternative?

[fatdog789]

The tax code is only complicated because of the people exploiting the loopholes. Way back in the beginning, it used to be ridiculously simple: you pay X% of your income. But then, people began arguing over what income was. And that's when it started getting complicated.