Do they not have [nearly] all that information already? How else can the IRS verify your filing is accurate without essentially doing your tax calculations automatically?

Most people's significant sources of income are already reported to the IRS.

It isn't the income part, its the deductions. They don't know, until I tell them what I give at various places. If I don't want to report the money I give to a charity / church, I don't have to.

I only skimmed over the article... but being from the UK, I've never understood the tax system in the US. In the UK I work for an employer, so I have a single source of income like the vast majority of people. The employer must pay their portion of the tax and at the same time they pay my portion of the tax. At the end of the year I get a P60 which states my income for the year, how much tax I have paid and under which tax code I paid. Assuming I only have the single job, there is nothing else for me to do.

If I have a secondary income (and I was inclined to declare it) then I would have to file a return with this info, I think it is all done online now.

I guess it just has always been the norm over here in the UK and so no one complains about it...

Complain about it? What's to complain about? Compared to others, the majority of people in the UK have it remarkably easy. As you say, each month the tax is taken off your pay and sent directly to the taxman, and that's it. Zero effort on the part of the person being paid.

If you've got more complicated affairs, you have to do some paperwork, but that'd be also true if the UK had the US system; it's very easy for most.

There's a middle-ground to be found between easy taxes and telling the government everything. The UK government knows monthly pay and takes tax from that accordingly. If one has any other taxable income, or any reason why one should pay less tax, it's up to that individual to tell them. This makes taxes easy (most people never talk to the tax office at all), and maintains privacy.

It's hell in the UK if your tax affairs are more than simple. I have three incomes, two with benefits and own a limited company. Tax return is hell as I'm on PAYE with two companies (yes this is legal). Usually end up owing HMRC a grand or two and have to spend 5 days a year working it all out (I won't hire an accountant as they're shysters and I've been screwed by two so far - bring on RDR).

I think it's hell everywhere, the UK is not alone in this... tax law is complex, hence the reason big corporations take advantage of it!

I just did my taxes last night. Every single source number there was already on a form 1099-something, w2, or other form that's been submitted to the irs.

If they can't do it properly, I can't do it properly. (because IANATL)

The part that they can't do correctly is mostly deduction-side.

I bet that they can get it correct for 90% of the taxpayers. They certainly could do it for me, using sensible defaults.

(e.g. mortgage interest is reported, real estate taxes are reported, local sales tax is a calculation in most cases).

Where they're not going to get it right is if you've got a Schedule C, since none of that is reported elsewhere.

For simple purchases of common stock, the purchase price is NOT reported to the IRS. Although, many brokers may provide it for your information.

I believe (meaning, I've got a form with that data) that that has changed as of this year, at least, they are now reporting the cost basis for stocks that have been sold. I don't remember seeing this in previous years.

Yep, cost basis is now being tracked and reported.

while your comment hints at lying and omitting information, i have some concrete anecdote on doing exactly that.

when i moved to the US, ernerst&young (the most incompetent financial firm i've ever worked with) besides doing several things wrong out of incompetence, told me to fill a form listing my overseas banking account. i checked that it was almost mandatory (the wording is not very clear) so i filled and submitted it.

then now, a few years later, checking the IRS website, they call you to fill that form and boast that "since some 3 years 30.000 people informed the IRS of their overseas accounts"

...really? 3 yrs... and there's 30.000 people in the US with overseas accounts?

So yeah, i can understand why people do not want the IRS to be informed of everything. it seems that trying to leave it in the dark is the way to go.

"while your comment hints at lying and omitting information, i have some concrete anecdote on doing exactly that."

I do not lie to the IRS (you are guilty and have to prove yourself innocent), and as a general rule in life, I try not to lie to people.

If the IRS has all the information it needs to fill out my taxes, then several parts of the Bill of Rights are being violated. I cannot fathom how the IRS would force churches to report each contributor for example.

whats the difference of:

- they getting the info

- you being forced by law to send them the info? (after paying a tax preparator just to fill in the forms)

nobody is talking about IRS knowing think you DON'T have to report to them to begin with. It's about the IRS just presenting you the information they already have.

My point is. Many, many, many people outright omit required* information to the IRS based on that number i saw earlier.

*required= info you would have to give out, otherwise you would be lying.

We can have a progressive tax rate that is simple. Unfortunately, people such as Grover Norquist make it extremely hard. They want our current tax system to be as complicated as possible so then they can say, "Hey! Let's just do a flat tax." Thus shifting the burden of taxes from the rich to the middle class. He actually raised heavy objections when California implemented the ReadyReturn system. [1]

[1] http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8134597/ns/business-motley_fool/t/...

They already have the majority of the information and will get any additional the moment you file. In almost every system current and proposed you will log on and confirm/modify.

Please don't conflate the tax code and filing, they are separate issues. It would be nice to solve both, but the solving of one doesn't require the other.