If you want to get some of your pre-paid taxes back, you will have to file but the tax office doesn't care if you don't.
Fun fact, they called the government provided tax software ELSTER which in German is also the name of a bird (Eurasian magpie) which is also known as the "thieving magpie". Who said the government didn't have a sense of humor!
For instance, there's been legislation where the IRS would simply tell you how much you owe and you pay it or dispute it. The IRS already know this amount, because this is what eventually happens.
Turbotax successfully lobbied for its defeat. It explicitly spends large amounts of money to complicate and convolute the system and structure it like a classroom quiz.
It is incredibly arcane, and in some cases individuals holding publicly traded assets are legally required to file income tax in all 50 states.
https://www.propublica.org/article/filing-taxes-could-be-fre...
California piloted a pre-filled tax return system (similar to Sweden and Australias, that the OP was talking about) called ReadyReturn in 2005 with 51,000 people.
Intuit then spent $3 million to smash it. They lobbied and then sued the state to stop the program. They are also profoundly incompetent technologists. There's an entire subreddit dedicated to how broken their stuff is (https://www.reddit.com/r/TurboTax/top/?t=all)
What did the participants of ReadyReturn, the pre-fille forms, think of the government program that Intuit killed?
"99% stated they were satisfied with ReadyReturn, 97% stated this is the type of service government should provide, 96% stated it was more convenient than how they filed in the past, 95% stated it saved them time, and 98% stated they would use it again"
Once again private interests sabotage and destroy the public will.
The line of "the reason taxes are so difficult..." is from sheer propaganda shills. Tax simplification has happened, it worked, and Intuit killed it every time. The reason is Intuit. They are the buggy whip industry that won. Shameless grifters that intentionally disrupt people's lives for profit.
Use another service. Any listed on the IRS website: https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers ... Never give Intuit a dime and click on every ad you see from them.
That said, there are a lot of challenges to such a program.
Ready return was limited to people who were single, no-dependents, standard-deduction, only-wage-income, one-employer, with a maximum adjusted gross income of $139,917
This is great for a number of people and should exist!
That said, if you fall into this category, your 1040 should take 15 minutes to file by paper.
Where automated systems break down is handling more complex scenarios. Selection of deductions, pass through business income and losses, charitable donations, corporate investment vehicles, ect.
Many of this things require individuals to make choices at the time of filing. This is challenging to automate.
There are some exceptions to this depending on business size i think but the vast majority of the data is in the feds hands.
That's one of the things I never understood, the US is only country im aware of where you have to file if you're a citizen, even if you're a resident overseas.
HMRC's website in the UK is far from perfect, but its tax form covering all UK personal taxes has the features people appear to be paying for with TurboTax (Q&A format, most sections being optional, references to industry specific deductions, guidance notes) baked in.
If your taxes are "easy" in the UK they come out of your payroll without you filing a return.