> with a seventy five thousand page tax code do we think they could?
Yes, for nearly everyone.
In fact, the IRS already does this -- your employer, bank, etc have already reported all of the biggest items to the IRS. They know what your tax bill will look like before you even crack open the 1040 instructions. Then when you file they'll compare what you send via the baseline and flag anything that has a discrepancy in that taxpayer's favor.
The IRS could easily let you start with the baseline and just say "OK, sounds good" or "actually, I've itemized my deductions, here is what I think the number should be". In fact the IRS wants to do that since it would be less work for them overall. Congress won't never let them though.
To bring it back to the original article, this is also why expats should never expect tax relief. The tax preparation industry would lose millions of customers.
Yes, for nearly everyone.
In fact, the IRS already does this -- your employer, bank, etc have already reported all of the biggest items to the IRS. They know what your tax bill will look like before you even crack open the 1040 instructions. Then when you file they'll compare what you send via the baseline and flag anything that has a discrepancy in that taxpayer's favor.
The IRS could easily let you start with the baseline and just say "OK, sounds good" or "actually, I've itemized my deductions, here is what I think the number should be". In fact the IRS wants to do that since it would be less work for them overall. Congress won't never let them though.
To bring it back to the original article, this is also why expats should never expect tax relief. The tax preparation industry would lose millions of customers.