Because it takes so long to file your taxes

You don’t mind paying taxes.

You like the hospitals, schools and roads they pay for.

You do mind filing your taxes.

After working all year for your employer, for money, you have to work another few weeks for the government, for free, navigating the Kafkaesque complexities of your tax return.

It could be simple, but the politicians can’t help themselves: they carve out exceptions for their rich friends, they carve out exceptions for their poor friends, until it’s so complicated that neither the tax authorities nor the tax accountants can make sense of it.

It all adds up to more work for you.