So saying "Hey just have the government do this!" is fairly useless.
> The IRS may be saving money as a result of its decision to shut down its free TeleFile program for filing taxes returns by phone, but the move is costing taxpayers millions of dollars, according to a report released by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/2542655/report--shutdo...
Fear of government is engrained in American culture. It is literally what the nation was founded on, and enshrined in the documents which established the country.
2. Errors are likely to go unnoticed as people will be loathe to “check the governments work”
Also not really an argument, but a consideration is that by keeping taxes “painful”, they are more unpopular than they would be, making higher tax policies less palatable to the public.
The government is already equally as able to optimize for revenue today as you claim they would be in a situation where the IRS mails you your 1040 with your income pre-printed.
Ultimately most people’s income taxes are withheld from their paycheck, and you get a refund at the end.
Do you know how much you pay in taxes now? Do you think other people know how much they pay?
How would your knowledge of how much you pay change under a proposed system where the IRS mails you a pre-filled 1040?
You say there’s work to be checked — it’s literally “did they get my w2 right?” and “do I want to take the standard deduction?”
If you don’t want to take the standard deduction, the process reverts to what it is today - you fill out your own tax forms and send them in. Nothing changes for that situation.
Your second point assumes gross incompetence or straight malice, which is unfair.
Edited for clarity