Sometimes, lawmakers make statements that are so absolutely ridiculous that you wonder how they ever got elected. Enter Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), also known as “Fauxcahontas,” who took to social media to take tax preparation companies to task for lobbying to keep America’s tax code as complicated as possible to create a need for their services.

On Monday, Warren wrote a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which she went after TurboTax for making the process of filing taxes more complex than it needs to be.

Every time you see a TurboTax ad, remember: they’ve spent millions of dollars lobbying to make the tax-filing process as difficult and time-consuming as possible. All to protect their bottom line. But now the IRS is testing out a truly free Direct File option.

Every time you see a TurboTax ad, remember: they’ve spent millions of dollars lobbying to make the tax-filing process as difficult and time-consuming as possible. All to protect their bottom line. But now the IRS is testing out a truly free Direct File option.

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 12, 2024

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who likely had to restrain himself from vomiting after seeing Warren’s post, responded, pointing out that the government is the problem, not TurboTax.

Give me a break. Don’t pretend you’re the firefighter when in fact you’re the arsonist.

Our convoluted tax code was created by senators and representatives like you who want to do social engineering in the tax code.

Give me a break. Don’t pretend you’re the firefighter when in fact you’re the arsonist.

Our convoluted tax code was created by senators and representatives like you who want to do social engineering in the tax code. https://t.co/pchDamBZGW

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) February 13, 2024

To be fair, Warren’s point is not completely devoid of merit. Tax preparation companies have lobbied for a more complicated system because it benefits their bottom line. Yet, Massie’s response highlights how Fauxcahontas’ peace pipe-induced post misses the point.

At the end of the day, TurboTax does not introduce and pass legislation. Tax laws fall under the domain of Congress, which is where the intricate web of rules, policies, and exceptions are woven.

Massie’s point about how government uses taxation to influence behavior is also apt. By infusing incentives and penalties within the tax code, lawmakers can shape economic and social behavior. This has created a tangled mess of a tax system that makes it harder for those having their money taken away from them to avoid running afoul of the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS announced last year that it was rolling out a pilot program to try out a new system that would supposedly make the process simpler.

Direct File walks you through preparing your return with a step-by-step checklist that guides you through the filing process and helps you easily track your progress. When you finish, Direct File shows you a clear summary of your 2023 federal taxes based on the information you entered. After you submit your return, we email you to confirm the submission, and email again when the IRS accepts your return.

The IRS processes Direct File returns the same way it does for all electronically filed returns, and we do not, and would not, give preferential treatment to any tax filing method, including Direct File.

The exchange between Massie and Warren demonstrates an issue that has been problematic for decades. The tax code is harder to understand than the latter seasons of “Lost.” This is by design, and it has little to do with tax preparation companies. It doesn’t take a tinfoil hat to see that the government has made the process complex because it makes it more likely that people will make costly mistakes that could subject them to more penalties later on. Moreover, the easier it is to understand our system of taxation, the more that taxpayers can see how badly they are being robbed. There is a reason why we say “Taxation is theft,” right?

Unfortunately, simplifying the tax code is unlikely to happen anytime soon as there is no major push in Congress to tackle the problem.