Tax Season Is Another Reminder That Our Tax Code Is Too Complex

The 2025 US taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities.
filing season officially begins on January 27th, and Americans will soon be reminded that our tax code remains a complex, burdensome mess.

With taxes at the forefront of the Trump administration’s agenda and his 2017 tax reforms set to expire at the end of the year, lawmakers must seize this opportunity to simplify the tax code once and for all.

Taxes impact all Americans in some form, whether through earnings, savings, purchasing, or other financial planning. When it comes to federal income taxes, more than 162 million individual income tax returns were filed last year.

Tax filing season tends to bring frustration, confusion, and headaches. Sometime in January, workers will receive their W2s. Then, for weeks on end, they will sweat and lose sleep over whether they made any mistakes on their tax returns as they wait for the IRS to accept it before the April deadline.

One reason this process feels so dreadful is because the average American doesn’t understand how the tax code works. If you think you’re the only one who doesn’t grasp the system, according to the latest research, you’re not alone.