Dear Internal Revenue Service,

The US government may have misunderstood me. When I, along with the rest of the country’s long-suffering taxpayers, asked for a simpler tax filing process, I didn’t mean that Congress should cut my ability to deduct state and local tax payments from my taxable income, as enacted late last year. No, I welcome that kind of complexity – the money-saving kind.

I meant the unwelcome complexity that gives the nation a headache on Tax Day – 17 April this year.

Here is a typical scenario, …