> Those other countries have much simpler tax codes than we do
All German readers spew out their drink in disbelief - Pardon what?
replies(4):
For a country which loves complaining about tax, and where half the political campaigning was traditionally about lowering tax, they sure love overcomplicating tax.
It's relatively easy to calculate the maximum someone with only ordinary income needs to pay.
However to pay less you need to understand all of the potential tax deductions, of which there are vastly more than most people realize.