this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
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i never really understood the argument that schools should teach taxes, since i feel like it inherently accepts that taxes are something that should be extremely contrived and complicated.
i think a better solution would be to simplify the tax system. make the tax system the way it is in many other countries: the government sends you a tiny little piece of paper that says “we calculated everything for you, here what you owe. reach out if you have any questions.”
i know that it will probably take a lot of work and be hard to reform the tax system, but will it be harder than changing the education system so they can teach you how to file taxes?
You can teach critical thinking with almost any topic, but I'd say understanding tax system in the place you live should be very important.
Btw why not simplify AND teach taxes in schools?
i think that this is a good point. you’re right that they’re not mutually exclusive.
my main thing is that i don’t think taxes should be so complicated that there needs to be a whole class dedicated to them. but making taxes part of a “practical life skills” class (for example) would probably be a good idea.
Yeah, even with simpler taxes, graduated tax brackets are a concept that a lot of adults don't get.
I agree it's important, but don't agree there should be a class on it. Something has to be removed to put something in. What do you propose removing? It should be discussed in a civics lesson, but there should be no need to learn how to do it, because it should just be done for you. They have all the information they need. They can trivially just tell you what it is and send a confirmation.
Reforming the federal tax system is an all or nothing proposition in the sense that any change however small would apply to the entire country. Changing the education system can be done district by district. You could go to your school board meeting and advocate for this and it could be put in place relatively quickly, compared to changing the federal system.
you’re probably right about the school side of things being easier, so i’ll retract my statement on that.
but i don’t see changing the education system as a viable alternative to changing the tax system. i feel like the current tax system is so complicated that teaching any kind of class on the tax system will amount to trying to teach an accounting class to high schoolers. and i don’t see that as a desirable solution. it would be better to simplify the system and teach high schoolers about that simplified system (in my opinion)
but i should probably make it clear that i’m not claiming to have any kind of authority over this stuff. i’m happy to change my mind on these things