How to Simplify the American Tax Filing Process

The Takeaway | Apr 17, 2017

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.

Because of Emancipation Day, Americans have until Tuesday, April 18th, to file taxes — three days later than the typical April 15th deadline.

If you're still working on yours, you're probably not alone: Americans will spend more than 6 billion hours preparing their taxes, which includes digging up W-2s, sifting through receipts, and filling out any number of forms. The amount we spend to get it done by firms or by ourselves with software is also significantly high.

Other countries like Japan and the Netherlands have streamlined the process, so what's stopping us? T.R. Reid, author of the book “A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System,” weighs in. 

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