McClatchy Washington Bureau

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For almost half a century, attorney J. Harlan Stamper has sorted through U.S. tax law.

He’s only recently stepped back from preparing other people’s returns.

So how does he do his own taxes? He uses a tax software program.

“Before, I always came away hoping I did it right, but I was never sure,” said the Kansas City lawyer. “Even somebody like me who has done this for so many years, it makes your head hurt. I’d like to come to the right answer.”

Americans are frightened by the tax form.

The annual math-meets-law-quiz is a national anxiety. Less than 20 percent of us brave the exam without help.

From could-be Cabinet member Kathleen Sebelius to couldn’t-be Cabinet member Tom Daschle to Treasury boss Timothy Geithner, prominent Americans have seemingly failed to pay their taxes correctly. Their explanations ranged from the arguably disingenuous to the plausibly confused. It’s fair to assume they had help from professionals.

Even the Internal Revenue Service’s taxpayer advocate declares that “it adds insult to injury that … taxpayers today find filing so complicated that they feel compelled to pay transaction fees simply to file their taxes.”

Read the complte story at kansascity.com