( CNN ) Danny Kahneman , my good friend and co-author who got a Nobel Prize in economics , once helped to run an experiment involving patients undergoing colonoscopies . One group received a mildly pleasurable experience at the end of the procedure ; the other group , which experienced the same type of colonoscopy , did not . It turns out that the group for whom things ended well had significantly more positive recollections of the whole affair from its beginning . The psychology of it is simple to understand : Happy endings matter . Even an unpleasant experience can lead to happy memories in hindsight if it ends well . So too with taxes . Let 's just say that when it comes to taxes for the average American , `` stuff '' happens ( keeping the colonoscopy metaphor running ) , paycheck to tax-reduced paycheck . But recent statistics suggest that 8 out of 10 American taxpayers get a refund when they file their taxes , and the average amount is close to $ 3000 . That pays for a lot of stuff . To make the good news even better , tax filing has gotten rather simple for most people , with various software and service providers offering to do the dreaded paperwork for free . No filing headaches and a check to boot . What 's not to like ? The fact of the matter is there is plenty not to like when it comes to the U.S. tax system . For example , the laws are biased against two-worker marriages ; taxes go up when two relatively equal earners marry , as the rate brackets for couples are less than double that for single filers . Taxes are also overly complex and essentially optional for the truly rich , who make their wealth off of their existing wealth , the largely untaxed returns from capital , rather than by getting ordinary paychecks like most of us . But now is not the time to explain such serious matters ; the people are too busy spending their refunds . The once dreaded Tax Day has become a happy spending spree for most Americans . This state of short-term bliss follows from some deep trends in our tax laws . In brief , the U.S. income tax system is increasingly a wage tax , with limited taxes on capital ( what the rich have ) and limited deductions for most of us . For example , 3 out of 4 Americans using a standard deduction get no break for their charitable contributions . All of this has been hashed and rehashed by politicians , professors and pundits . But who has time for that ? Let 's go to our television sets and check out the commercials . One clever spot ran during the recent Super Bowl , suggesting that the Boston Tea Party -- a tax revolt -- could have been averted with free online filing , which the sponsor was eager to provide . Filling out 1040s was part of what made the income tax so odious for the masses for such a long time -- who does n't remember our parents fretting over shoeboxes of receipts sometime in April , the cruelest month ? Now as Tax Day approaches , we are flooded with advertisements about America getting its billions back , without even having to pay to prepare the forms . We get paid to play ! Here is the happy ending that Kahneman and others have shown can mitigate the memories of unpleasantness past . The simple fact is that a simple tax is also rather simple to administer . Service providers kindly offer to help out the masses of befuddled Americans . Of course , these kind souls want their happy endings too . They are betting that once the large refunds become obvious to their customers , the grateful taxpayers-turned-consumers will happily purchase add-on services , such as `` audit protection insurance , '' or perhaps deposit the money in financial accounts managed by the provider . Just as lottery winners notoriously go on impulsive spending sprees , the `` found money '' of tax returns can finance many nice purchases . Of course , there are still those annoying matters of the deep unfairness of the tax laws , biased against modern families and wage earners , and in favor of the rich living off capital . No real bother -- stuff happens . Let others fret about fairness . As long as our taxpaying or colon procedures end with a smile -- or a check -- who has time to dwell on the bad stuff that came before ?
Edward McCaffery : There 's a fundamental unfairness to America tax laws . But Americans do n't care because most of us get a refund on Tax Day , and that makes us happy .