Well, think about it. Taxes are a bill the government charges you, so why do you have to do all the math? Imagine if we did that with any other bill.
(doorbell rings) How much do I owe you? You tell me. Divide number of toppings by cheese consumption?
$12? Wrong! Now you're goin' to jail!
Bogus. Instead of making you fill out a complicated return, why doesn't the government just tell you how much you owe? Well, 'cause they need to know my income, my interest on my savings.
. . all the numbers that are on those forms.
News flash! They already do. Employers, banks, and other financial institutions already send detailed records to the IRS.
Okay, we just got Hank's W2s and 1099s. I could calculate his tax bill myself. .
. Nah, I'll just wait quietly while he sends me the exact same information. D'oh!
The government could quite literally do your taxes for you. It's an idea called return-free filing. Instead of the government checking your work, you'd check theirs, and it would make taxes more like this.
Ooh, honey, our taxes came. Oh. .
. Just need to deduct that work trip to Toledo and we're done! Hey, think we have time for some wild, bedpost-rattling sex?
Why not? Our April's wide open. Return-free filing is already used by countries around the world and could allow millions of Americans like you to do your taxes for free in just five minutes.
Yeah, well, those bozos in Washington would never go for an idea that makes that much sense. Actually, return-free filing bills are introduced in Congress all the time, and both Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan pushed for it. Yes, we can.
Tear down this wall. . .
of paperwork. (cheering and applause) Wow. .
. that must be the only thing those guys would agree on. Okay.
I'm sold. Give me return-free filing. Sorry.
The makers of tax software like TurboTax and H&R Block spend a butt-load of money to make sure it never happens. T-t-tax software industry. You p-p-pay us to make your taxes easier, so we pay lobbyists to make sure they stay c-c-complicated.
Citizens, we feel your pain! Filing your taxes is just too. .
. darn. .
. (cash register rings) fun! Everything's great.
We're changing nothing. (inhaling deeply) Ooh. .
. These calculating companies have lobbied to kill multiple return-free filing bills over the past decade. And they're using my money to do it?
Well, that's shameless. And it gets worse. This is Jessica Huseman, a reporter at ProPublica who's covered this story.
The tax prep industry actually created a front group called the Free File Alliance that lets you file your taxes for free. It's supposed to be available to two-thirds of the taxpaying public, but almost no one uses it. That's because the system is confusing, the IRS doesn't market it, the tax companies have no incentive to push it themselves, and a sneaky opt-in option allows them to push their paid products.
Don't use the f-f-free option. It's too hard. Pay me instead.
But I want return-free filing, like you were talking about. (Huseman) Well, here's the worst part. The tax industry negotiated an exclusive deal that prevents the federal government from offering return-free filing or any free system of tax filing so long as the Free File Alliance exists.
So you're saying the government could be doing my taxes for me, for free, but TurboTax and H&R Block are working like crazy to stop that from happening? Exactly. Instead, you're stuck doing your taxes yourself with this guy.
Get ready to spend all your Aprils with m-m-me. Gah!
