Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Taxes: An Easy-To-Understand, Easy-To-Use Primer That Takes the Mystery Out of Income Tax

First, this is NOT a tax manual. This small and colorful book is designed as a general introduction to the process and vocabulary of the various taxes we all pay under varying conditions of income and investment. It is not a current guide to assist you in tax planning.It gives you a basic introduction to the kinds of taxes we pay at the federal and local levels, the IRS, "paying as you earn", the annual (federal) return (with a nice general overview of the general applicable forms), audits (shiver!), and a little overview of tax planning. But, again, this guide's purpose is to provide a general overview and to provide you with basic concepts and vocabulary. Think of this as a good introduction to the topic rather than a practical preparation guide and you will understand what this book is trying to do.It has lots of color and every page also uses helpful illustrations of the forms and processes involved in the tax process. Great for young people trying to learn what they are facing as the goverment(s) remove large chunks of their income to keep us in whatever it is we think we have from the government(s).

This book was the right price and the right pace for a young person begining his or her life on their own. The Wall Street guide is comprehensive covering a quick history of taxes and then expounding upon the present state of US tax codes and the IRS. This book won't help you fill out your taxes nor contain the most up todate codes but may help make the frustration and confusion associated with filing much lest daunting and more bearable