I lived and worked in Norway for several years, and each year I received a pre-filled tax return from the government. If I recall correctly, I had three choices:
- Send a PIN code by mobile phone which acted as a digital signature to file "as is"
- Log in to central location on the Internet and click a button to file "as is"
- Sign it and send it in.
If I needed to make adjustments, then only the third option was viable (I only had to do that once).
It literally took me less than 5 minutes to verify and send in. Fairly painless - the only pain being in the amount of taxes I paid, Norway being a socialist country, and all.
- Send a PIN code by mobile phone which acted as a digital signature to file "as is"
- Log in to central location on the Internet and click a button to file "as is"
- Sign it and send it in.
If I needed to make adjustments, then only the third option was viable (I only had to do that once).
It literally took me less than 5 minutes to verify and send in. Fairly painless - the only pain being in the amount of taxes I paid, Norway being a socialist country, and all.
The resistance from third party tax preparation companies and software providers reminds me of the Parable of the Broken Window http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window