The steelman case for opposing "auto-filing" or having the IRS provide tax preparation is that the intention of requiring everyone to file is that all citizens should be directly aware of the amount of taxes being assessed and the complexity of the tax code itself, with the objective of making people oppose legislative increases in the complexity of the tax code, and to make tax increases more intrusive so that legislators cannot increase taxes without people noticing.
I think, though, that this philosophy does not accomplish its ends -- people are mad at the IRS for making them do this work, not at the legislators for creating and maintaining a byzantine tax code. Ideally we would all choose politicians that favored removing complexity and reducing the amount of taxes, but the reality is that this is not usually a politically viable strategy.
I think, though, that this philosophy does not accomplish its ends -- people are mad at the IRS for making them do this work, not at the legislators for creating and maintaining a byzantine tax code. Ideally we would all choose politicians that favored removing complexity and reducing the amount of taxes, but the reality is that this is not usually a politically viable strategy.