LogFAQs > #980167519

TwoDoorPC posted...

don't you have to tell your own government how much you owe in taxes, a number they already know, and if you don't get it correct you get a fine/jail time?

Honestly, people are complaining about the wrong thing with the US tax system. It isnt that the government knows how much you owe, its that the government is wrong about how much you owe and you have to tell the government you owe less through countless deductions and tax credits. In other words, the government only knows how much you made, and the tax you owe regarding that; nothing else (e.g., you have a dependent = tax credit, you installed solar panels = tax credit, you paid interest in student loans = tax deduction).

So my solution is to just get rid of every single deduction and tax credit, and then lower the tax brackets accordingly so that the tax rate youre taxed at is what your effective tax rate is. But this will NEVER happen because of special interest groups (like clean energy companies will want tax credits for taxpayers when they buy high efficiency products).