In the words of the taxman, as sung by the Beatles, “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street/ If you drive to city, I’ll tax your seat/ If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat/ If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.”

Last Friday, Americans scrambled to file their tax returns. Over the years, the tax code increasingly has become more complicated. The Beatles’ song has become a reality.

It’s time for a change.

Just look at the numbers. The Office of Management and Budget estimates people collectively spend 6.6-billion hours with tax forms each year, according to a recent article in the Rockford Register Star. That’s 6.6-billion hours that could be used for far better purposes.

It takes an average of almost 27 hours to fill out a simple 1040 and the documents that go with it, including the time it takes to gather information and learn the rules, according to the National Taxpayers Union. Surely, that contributes to many errors in the forms.

The country wastes $203.4 billion a year dealing with and enforcing the code, according to the Tax Foundation. Instead that money could be going to support schools or health care.

The federal tax code is over 60,000 pages. Even IRS agents couldn’t learn the entire thing.

And the solution to this convoluted mess? Well, having a flat tax is one idea. Eliminating all the special-interest loopholes and corporate welfare clauses is another.

One thing is sure: when you filed your return this year, you probably gave the taxman one more reason to sing.

After all, for a good part of the year, you’re only working for him.