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> Tax policy is the government's strongest tool to change personal behavior, and if the system is simple and automated it doesn't do that at all.

I'm not sure I agree. For example, I used to pay city wage tax to one municipality, and I decided I did not want to pay that city tax anymore so I took a job in another area that no longer had the city wage tax. I would be due the wage tax no matter what, and I was aware of exactly how much the wage tax was by looking at my pay stub every two weeks. Having my taxes prepared for me doesn't really change that.



It's all the various deductions you can take, both above and below the line.

It is possible to do the same societal effect in other ways, but the US does a done at the federal level via taxes.

Go look sometimes at the list of things you can claim in various cases.

It's even more explicit when you look at business tax returns and schedules.




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