My main problem with the US tax system

[williamgrahm]

I'm sure people have similar sentiment, but I just can't stand the fact that we're pretty much the only country in the world that mandates individuals to file their tax returns and then punishes them when they make a mistake.

I think understanding how to do your taxes/understand how it's calculated is super important. But it would be a much more efficient system for the IRS to just tell you how much you owe instead of comparing your results with their own and issuing notices.

Because information to them is already being furnished, they'll already have an answer as to the taxes you owe. Additionally, if they focused on individual income tax, private firms/S-corps and self employed tax preparers would be able to focus on other things in the field that aren't technically obsoleted.

I've been preparing tax returns for about six years, and I'm moving to Seattle for a new job in international sales tax systems. I'm happy to leave income tax behind because it just feels like I'm not doing anything of value. If I wanted to do tax preparation and the like, I'd want to work at the IRS to improve their archaic systems. Then I'd actually be doing something valuable.