What can you tell the IRS that they don't know already?

Ever since the day I filled my first tax form, I never understood how a society could rest on such a complicated system. 12-16 months after the fact, you're asked about the fiscal details of the previous year. Did you have medical expenses? How much? Which were deductible? See the two-pager on deductible medical expense, then fill form J-9, then G-11 and you're done. Now let's move to tuition fees, work expenses and retirement savings.

I've also realized with experience that having an accountant preparing your tax report doesn't make things much simpler. You still have to collect all the documents during the year and pick the relevant ones to give your accountant.

This is why I'm sympathetic to this solution: "With a small adjustment in processing procedures, the revenue service could send you a tax form already filled out with the information it has for you - a Simple Return - rather than a blank tax form." See the whole piece in the New York Times.

With Internet services that ask you questions ("How much did you earn") and then fills the form for you, the accountant's role is becoming more and more an advisory service ("Did you know that this was deductible?"). This can save you money, which is the only reason why I would be reluctant to accept the idea that the IRS would fill my tax form.