theres no shortage of things wrong with the american tax system but somethings that bugs me to no end is how un-general it is as a system. there's no principles, no abstractions, nothing. state and federal legislators thought of like 38 different ways you might make money, and if you fall into one of those 38 you might be ok but if you did anything even slightly beyond the imagination of the most mediocre powerhungry moneyperverts of the last century youre in undefined territory