DayDreaming
Full time employment: Posting here.
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- Jan 19, 2008
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As I'm getting ready to file my taxes, I was wondering how complicated taxes are in other countries. Here in the USA I know so many people who rely on a tax preparer to do their taxes for them, even though they don't appear to have anything too complicated. Myself, I have a pension, investment income, and a small sole-proprietorship income - I do my own taxes but I rely on software - to do them by hand would be a chore.
Just wondering if anyone here could share their experience filing personal income taxes in countries other than the US?
I found this article from 2017 - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dreading-taxes-countries-show-us-theres-another-way and here are some highlights:
Just wondering if anyone here could share their experience filing personal income taxes in countries other than the US?
I found this article from 2017 - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dreading-taxes-countries-show-us-theres-another-way and here are some highlights:
Americans spend about six billion hours a year collecting the data and filling out the forms. We spend $10 billion to H&R Block and other preparers and, on top of that, $2 billion in tax preparation software, which still takes hours of work.
I was in the Netherlands on March 31, the day before their taxes are due.
I was with an executive who makes $200,000 a year, two mortgages, a lot of investments. He'd have to fill out 12 forms in America. I said, Michael, how do you pay your taxes? He pops a beer. He goes online. The government's filled in every line. If the numbers look right, he clicks OK. It takes five minutes.
in Japan, you get a postcard from the IRS that says, we think you made this much. We withheld this much. We owe you a refund of that much. We will put it in your bank on April 1. It takes one minute, if you think the numbers are right.