Sorry to be smart, but its the government when have they ever made anything simple! I'm sure if an aide needs to use the washroom there are requisition and forms for that too ! LOL

I think they are getting kick backs from H&R Block or something.

I guess so they can be exact and make sure they get all of THEIR money that their REQUIRED to get! Look- The IRS= theirs!!! Get it!?!

I think they're hoping you'll screw up so they can audit you. I have been using H&R Block Taxcut for years, and getting much better tax refunds. Do they have that software for you to use in Canada?

Have a bonfire and burn those 1040 forms. Never lose sleep over your income taxes again. Go to WalMart and buy TurboTax. Its simple, concise and they ask you questions that will give you a much bigger refund. Would you like a flick of my Bic?

They can't use simple English. They just can't. Bureaucrats are too inbred.

Well, as a tax professional, I can tell you powerful lobbyists for professional accounting firms want taxes to be unreadable to the average American. That way they stay in business. I actually enjoy the complexity myself. It's a challenge. My knowledge and experience is directly proportional to the benefit I can provide my client. Every client is a new game: "What tax considerations could save this client money? What are the right questions to ask? What suggestions will help them save on taxes in the future?" The more questions I ask myself, the more I am certain that I earned my keep for that client. The client's refund (or owed money) changes in real-time in the corner of my computer screen, reacting to each nuance I recognize in my client's information. The more I can inch that number positively doing legal, above-the-board recognitions of genuine tax situations, the better I'm doing for the client, and the better I feel about it. It's too bad most of America can't be in on my excitement... in some ways, it's romantic to do battle with the numbers on behalf of the client - especially when that client is poor parents of 4 who hardly make enough to support such a family, or a recently married couple struggling with a mortgage payment on a new house. Of course, I'll be the first to tell you that the taxes are much more complex than they need to be, and they deserve a much-needed overhaul and especially a rebalancing of fairness toward the lower and middle class.