Next to the American death cult that is MAGA, the other American death cult that is 2nd Amendment gun-nuttery, and the other other American death cult that is our health insurance setup, the question my overseas friends ask about is why filing American taxes is so hard and stupid:

Let me tell you about the most wasteful US federal government spending I know about. It's a humdinger. You and everyone you know are mired in it for weeks, or perhaps months, every year. It will cost you, personally, thousands of dollars over your lifetime. I'm talking about filing your taxes.

Not paying your taxes. Paying your taxes is fine. It keeps the country running, though not because the government needs our "tax dollars" to pay for things. The government annihilates the money it taxes away from us, and creates new money to pay for programs. The USA needs US citizens' dollars to build highways the same way Starbucks needs its Starbucks gift cards to make lattes – that is, not at all:

https://theglobepost.com/2019/03/28/stephanie-kelton-mmt/

I'm talking about filing your taxes. In nearly every case, a tax return contains a bunch of things the IRS already knows: how much interest your bank paid you, how much your employer paid you, how many kids you have, etc etc. Nearly everyone who pays a tax-prep place or website to file their tax return is just sending data to the IRS that the IRS already has. This is insanely wasteful.

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/11/doubling-up-on-paperwork/#rip-freefile

When I filed taxes as an expat, the heavy lifting E&Y did was not so much what was needed for the country I was working in but rather the byzantine IRS paperwork. That was expensive work and E&Y charged my employer an appropriate amount. But it was still ridiculous.

Being back in the States for five years, I rely on the IRS Free File. I’ve no interest in contributing to the nonsense racket that is Intuit or H&R Block. I’ll fucking print out and mail my tax forms like in the old days before I’ll throw those leeches another cent.