How did taxes, this quintessentially frustrating thing, come to be so frustrating? And must it be so?

This hour, we’re learning about why taxes are so complicated to file in the U.S. Then, we’ll talk about how some of the richest people in America end up paying next to no taxes on the wealth they grow every year. Finally: a conversation with someone who doesn’t pay a chunk of his taxes — on purpose — as a form of protest.

GUESTS: 

• Monica Prasad: Professor of Economic and Political Sociology at Johns Hopkins University 

• Paul Kiel: Reporter for ProPublica who covers taxes

• Lawrence Rosenwald: Professor of English Emeritus at Wellesley College and a longtime war tax resister

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 28, 2024.

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