The tax code is complicated to the American people, many of whom hire H&R Block to fill out their short forms for the IRS. Most are so mathematically-challenged they wouldn’t think of reading the forms and filling them out themselves.
***The tax code is complicated to the American people, many of whom hire H&R Block to fill out their short forms for the IRS. Most are so mathematically-challenged they wouldn’t think of reading the forms and filling them out themselves.***
Sounds like the tax code might not be the problem then. Because most of the people that stumble into an H&R Block Office, or stagger into a Jackson Hewitt office, wind up getting ripped off at rates of $200 to $300 for a simple 1040EZ (with the rapid refund and all). We don’t do any of that stuff here, but if someone is too dumb to fill out a 1040EZ Form, then it doesn’t matter how simple the tax code is.
We only deal with complex returns such as corporations, S-corps, partnerships, real estate investors, non-profits, multiple related company’s, etc... If someone can’t fill out a simple 1040-EZ Form, than frankly, I don’t even want to waste my time talking with them. Some people will always need an HR Block or some kind of crutch.
The tax form could say, [Take line 1 of your W-2 Form, and multiply it by 9, write the result on line Y. Then write line 2 from your W-2 here. Subtract line X from line Y and enter the result on line Z. This is your refund or the amount you owe.] And people would still get it wrong.
If that’s the case, then I don’t think we have a tax code problem, I think we’ve got a dawdling problem. Most people can’t even balance a checkbook, not that they can’t, but they don’t take the time. This generation is stuck on twitter, facebook and their cellphones so much that it’s probably hopeless.
***For the other commentators here: Hey, I don’t write the laws. I mearly read, interpret, and help small business owners by protecting their rights, and keeping them out of the traps. I’ll be happy to return to what I was doing before I started doing this if someone finds an easier way. Maybe they’ll find a way where payroll can be done, and bills paid without human intervention too. As for 9-9-9 goes, I have mearly read and interprested what it says and passed it on. If you have a problem with the plan, talk Cain. If you have a problem with me, talk to my boss.***