Local taxes (Venezuela) were a breeze. Couple of hours including the beers. Filling out the forms took less time than waiting in line at the bank to pay.I'm most interested in how people deal with their taxes as becoming an expat makes things complicated. Tax planning is one of the trickiest aspects of becoming a US expat. Obviously everyone has to file a 1040 etc, but your country of residence will also want you to comply with their laws. Do most people file on their own or employ accountants?
I tried to do my US taxes there but could not. Too complicated. Tax SW makes it a little easier (like a shady spot in hades is a bit cooler) but the software is limited and you need to know the forms well. TurboTax and I can do my son's US taxes (he's in Japan) but once his income gets into AMT land it gets messy. Good record keeping is critical.
There were two types of US tax preparers. One worked for the people assigned abroad by their companies, paid in US$, making big bucks, tax equalized. Typically a large global accounting firm, such as PwC or EY. Price was >$1000. The other tax preparer was him/herself an expat and worked with "regular people", folks living overseas that had gone native and were earning like locals (my case and most of the expats in this forum). They were much cheaper, advertised in the local press, and were just as good.