They make it obtuse on purpose, both to prop up the tax return industry, and to make it both possible to create loopholes for the rich to avoid taxes, and make it so that the rest of us can’t really benefit from those loopholes.
It’s Byzantine on purpose. They could simplify it any time they wanted to.
What country uses British English (“maths I learnt”) and has a US-style nightmare of individual tax returns?
Plenty of people in Britain have to do a tax assessment. But not if you have a simple single employment, no meaningful savings or investments, etc.
Sure, but “22-year-old me” seemed unlikely to be in that uncommon situation in a meme that’s meant to be relatable.
Canada? The British slang at least wouldn’t be that out of place here
Saying maths is absolutely out of place here. Also taxes here aren’t nearly as complicated as the US and there are a number of free tools available to file by yourself.
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Thank you, northern neighbor. I suspected that was the answer but wasn’t sure.
I know the meme is “taxes bad taxes hard” but I’ve really never understood this for younger people. If all you’re responsible for is the W2, it’s literally as simple as clicking through the online form and following instructions lol. Put the numbers on the paper in the boxes on the computer. I’m not sure what specific math class was needed for this.
In my US (public) high school, we had to do a sort of simulation computer game that included applying for loans, buying property, getting jobs, and filling yearly taxes manually. It was pretty fun actually, but maybe I’m just weird.
That’s because you weren’t in dumb kid math. As a kid I was a seen as a trouble maker and put in dumb kid math. That was the best math class I ever took. They taught us how to balance a check book, how our taxes worked, interest rates and apr for loans and credit cards. I don’t know why this wouldn’t be a mandatory class for everyone. And maybe some of the skills like balancing a check book are outdated and that’s fine. Update them with something more relevant now like how to read a contract or something.
I took an Accounting 101 elective in high school, and it was basically this. Completely separate from the other math classes though.
“A good understanding of tax law is worth 34% of your income”
At least in the US, prob more in EU.
Math*
