Will Trump plan to eliminate the IRS?

@DownTheStreet The best tax efficiency, widely adopted, is automatic deduction from the payslip. But that would involve hiring more IRS staff and upsetting the accountancy profession which makes a lot of profit out of performing what is for most a routine administrative task. So I guess that won't be happening . .

@SunshineGirl I'm amazed that automatic deductions aren't already the way you do it. It's straightforward for the most part. Adjustments can be made one way or the other at the end of the tax year if needed. Although it works for the majority, it doesn't work for lots of people, so you need a system of filing for them. I'm not sure you would need extra staff for an automatic system, but employers would need accountants to help rather than employees.

@FreddieUK I'm from the UK too. It used to be considered a burden on the employer, but most PAYE is now essentially a conversation between automated accounting systems. Those require investment to set up and maintain, and some human intervention to reduce the risk of fraud, but it's greatly more efficient than everyone filing individually.

My nighbour who is self-employed, was charged £500 by a accountancy firm for auditing his accounts and submitting an annual tax return. He spent nearly four days gathering and putting the data into an acceptable format. His £500 bought him 2.5 hours of work by a non-qualified assistant, 1 hour from an actual accountant, and a lot of very expensive looking embossed paper.