It's just another one of the millions of little ways Americans get screwed. I lived in the US for quite a few years and it was a shitshow. Here in Australia, the government provides a portal for filing your taxes (and pretty much all government services - just a single portal). All your info is pre-filled, you just add any additional undeclared income or deductions you want and submit. Unless you're dealing with millions of dollars, the whole process takes 10 minutes.