Taxpayers to spend $477B on tax season

(thecentersquare.com)

2 points | by speckx 7 hours ago ago

1 comments

  • zahlman 7 hours ago

    > The National Taxpayers Union Foundation released a report with estimates on how much time and money Americans are expected to spend.

    They have their own website (https://www.ntu.org/foundation/), so why not cite it directly?

    > The report estimated the average American will spend 12 hours and $290 to complete their tax return.

    > The report estimates that tax compliance costs include $319.7 billion in lost time and at least $157.1 billion in out-of-pocket expenses, including tax software and professional services.

    Even taking the claims for granted (that seems like an awful lot to spend on tax software, and if you're hiring a professional then there shouldn't be a huge burden on your time), that works out to 541.7 million Americans whose time is valued at an average of $49.18 an hour.

    I... don't think these are reliable numbers.