Every Day Is Tax Day When Your Data Architecture Is Too Complex` The reality of complex data architectures can have a significant impact on an organization, leading to a "tax" on innovation. This phenomenon, known as the data and innovation recurring tax (DIRT), is caused by the need to cobble together niche databases with cumbersome pipelines, or to use off-the-shelf software that doesn't work well together. As a result, developers spend time creating workarounds, rather than working on new features, leading to increased complexity and maintenance costs. Complexity can also lead to decreased innovation, as organizations become bogged down in supporting complex architectures. However, reducing complexity can have the opposite effect, improving the developer experience and hastening time to market, while leaving more opportunities for innovation.