In many European countries, taxpayers receive an annual tax bill calculated by the government, and they are not entitled to many deductions. Americans, however, compute their own taxes and file their own tax returns. This self-assessment system encourages taxpayers to search for legal ways to lower their tax bills with deductions, credits, and other means, favoring the educated and proactive taxpayer and penalizing the uneducated or lazy taxpayer.

A common perception is that wealthy Americans pay less than others because they can afford to hire the best accountants and tax attorneys, but that does not have to be the case. Most Americans can save tax money with the proper (and affordable) help.

The IRS has never made it clear how to qualify for trader tax status, relegating this job to the tax courts, which are decades behind. However, thousands of traders have used tax breaks and received huge refund checks without questions from the IRS.