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It's the day after taxes (or, for those of you Yanks using Turbo Tax who didn't get confirmation last night, or those recovering from the N'or Easter (or however you spell that), tax day), and I've been thinking what can be done to make taxes less painful. First, the tax code is a royal mess, and I WORK WITH IT EVERY DAY! I cannot imagine what a layman must think of it. But, in defense of the IRS, the damn thing go so complicated because PEOPLE CHEAT! It's unreal how many simple things have become nightmares just because someone had to cheat. I pay what I owe. I don't cheat (I'd get fired), but I'm VERY conservative on what I deduct. Our taxes pay for highways, Head Start (a school program for lower income kids), student loan subsidies, Pell Grants, Medicaid, Medicare, and lots of other good things. Unfortunately, our taxes mostly pay for the military. I think there are a few things our country could do to make taxes more fair. 1) Raise capital gain rates. Capital gains is just a fancy way to say money you make off of an investment. If you put your money in the stock market (and you are rich), when you take it out for every $100,000 you'd pay $15,000 in tax. If you work for a living making $100,000 per year, you'll pay between 25,000 and 36,000 depending on kids and other little things. Sound fair? Nope. 2) Index the AMT (alternative minimum tax) to inflation. Knowing what the AMT is isn't as important as knowing that what was designed to catch the rich is now catching the middle class because it's never been raised to account for inflation. It's time we indexed all the rich people provisions, not just the ones that benefit them (like estate and gift tax limits). 3) Congress just passed this, and I think it's a great idea. The IRS must now inform taxpayers they may be eligible for the earned income tax credit (which a form of welfare based upon how poor you are, and it's for people who work and have kids). It's estimated that millions of dollars each year go unclaimed because people don't realize they should file taxes to get EITC. It's a shame really. Okay, enough of this ya ya. Be glad you live in a country where we have the means to pay taxes. Be thankful you're not drinking from a contaminated well and eating rotten meat. Happy tax day.