Every year, Americans dread the first 3.5 months of the year as they navigate the complexities of filing a tax return or opt to pay a professional to do it for them. The Internal Revenue Service expects 146 million tax filings for the 2023 earning year. With so many people affected, one would think there is an incentive to simplify. But in fact, there are incentives to keep the U.S. tax code complicated. Taxpayers benefit through credits and deductions, while the $13.9 billion tax preparation industry has a few obvious perks. This year, the IRS launched a website to make…