What I mean to highlight is that although a mistake in filing may lead to the IRS rectifying the mistake by sending/requesting the error balance, there are other possible effects, including civil and criminal liabilities.
This is undesirable. As mentioned in many comments here, the vast majority of filers, especially those with one employer and no substantial investment income, should not be required to file their taxes and instead the IRS should communicate the calculation result and ask if the filer disagrees.
This is a classic problem related to the "you slice, I choose" false dichotomy[0]. Essentially, even assuming it costs zero time to fill out and file a tax return, any mistake at all could lead to a negative consequence to filer.
As an aside, always choose to choose and not to cut the cake :)
I suspect failing to report significant income to the tax authorities would be considered tax fraud in just about any legislation. If there weren't any kind of a potential penalty for failing to report or for significantly under-reporting, doing so would be potentially beneficial with no drawbacks.
Failing to report income or reporting false information for financial gain can lead to extra tax or prosecution for tax fraud where I live. I'd definitely be careful to report all income if I had income from sources that don't automatically withhold taxes, especially if it were significant.
I don't think they'll drag you to criminal court if you make a small mistake, though. But if you fail to report thousands of euros of income and the authorities get wind of it, sure, especially if it seems intentional.
I don't know if the risk of prosecution or other legal consequences is somehow greater in the US.
What I mean to highlight is that although a mistake in filing may lead to the IRS rectifying the mistake by sending/requesting the error balance, there are other possible effects, including civil and criminal liabilities.
This is undesirable. As mentioned in many comments here, the vast majority of filers, especially those with one employer and no substantial investment income, should not be required to file their taxes and instead the IRS should communicate the calculation result and ask if the filer disagrees.
This is a classic problem related to the "you slice, I choose" false dichotomy[0]. Essentially, even assuming it costs zero time to fill out and file a tax return, any mistake at all could lead to a negative consequence to filer.
As an aside, always choose to choose and not to cut the cake :)
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_cake-cutting