How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013) • Hacker News Board

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#201

Post by mortehu » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:20 AM UTC

jjeaff wrote: post #160

xupybd wrote: post #97

I live in New Zealand. I don't have to file taxes if my income is a standard wage my tax payments are automatic. My employer deducts them from my wage and they are sent to the IRD (Our government tax dept). My student loan and super payments are also automatic. If there is anything wrong then at the end of the tax year I can file to correct things. I also get donations rebates, this is a one page form that lists all…

It's almost that simple in the US if your situation is that simple. What happens in NZ if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay? What if you earned $1k in returns on your investment account? What if you are renting your place out on Airbnb? If all you have is a simple income in the US, then the 1040ez is a single page and you can file it for free online if you make under a certain amount. You can…

In practice, the difference between US and other countries is still pretty big.

In US, about 60 percent of individual tax returns are filed by a professional tax preparer, at every income level. People who owe no income tax still have to file tax returns to receive tax credits. In many other modern countries, _the_majority_ of the tax payers file no tax returns at all.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#202

Post by jwilliams » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:26 AM UTC

xupybd wrote: post #162

jjeaff wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's almost that simple in the US if your situation is that simple. What happens in NZ if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay? What if you earned $1k in returns on your investment account? What if you are renting your place out on Airbnb? If all you have is a simple income in the US, then the 1040ez is a single page and you can file it for free online if you make under a certain amount. You can…

Yes you have to file an IR3 if you make other income. http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-individual/end-year/ir3/ii... My favourite part of our tax system is the advice to file if you have "income from an illegal enterprise" EDIT: Just as a reply to the original point. I'm not sure how complicated the US system is. I'm not trying to say it's bad either, it just seems to me that we have a system similar to the one that…

I'm not sure how complicated the US system is

FYI - At various stages of my life I've filed in New Zealand, Australia, UK, Switzerland and the US (California).

I can't generalize to all persons, but I do have a decent spread of countries in my own experience - and the US was by some serious margin the most complicated.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#203

Post by ragix » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:28 AM UTC

xupybd wrote: post #162

jjeaff wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's almost that simple in the US if your situation is that simple. What happens in NZ if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay? What if you earned $1k in returns on your investment account? What if you are renting your place out on Airbnb? If all you have is a simple income in the US, then the 1040ez is a single page and you can file it for free online if you make under a certain amount. You can…

Yes you have to file an IR3 if you make other income. http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-individual/end-year/ir3/ii... My favourite part of our tax system is the advice to file if you have "income from an illegal enterprise" EDIT: Just as a reply to the original point. I'm not sure how complicated the US system is. I'm not trying to say it's bad either, it just seems to me that we have a system similar to the one that…

I'm also a kiwi and have been working for over 15 years and have a student loan. The only time I have to do anything is when I file an optional personal tax summary to see if i/them owe anything. It takes less than 5 minutes online and is free.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#204

Post by ragix » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:28 AM UTC

xupybd wrote: post #162

jjeaff wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's almost that simple in the US if your situation is that simple. What happens in NZ if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay? What if you earned $1k in returns on your investment account? What if you are renting your place out on Airbnb? If all you have is a simple income in the US, then the 1040ez is a single page and you can file it for free online if you make under a certain amount. You can…

Yes you have to file an IR3 if you make other income. http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-individual/end-year/ir3/ii... My favourite part of our tax system is the advice to file if you have "income from an illegal enterprise" EDIT: Just as a reply to the original point. I'm not sure how complicated the US system is. I'm not trying to say it's bad either, it just seems to me that we have a system similar to the one that…

I'm also a kiwi and have been working for over 15 years and have a student loan. The only time I have to do anything is when I file an optional personal tax summary to see if i/them owe anything. It takes less than 5 minutes online and is free.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#205

Post by wallace_f » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:31 AM UTC

jjeaff wrote: post #160

xupybd wrote: post #97

I live in New Zealand. I don't have to file taxes if my income is a standard wage my tax payments are automatic. My employer deducts them from my wage and they are sent to the IRD (Our government tax dept). My student loan and super payments are also automatic. If there is anything wrong then at the end of the tax year I can file to correct things. I also get donations rebates, this is a one page form that lists all…

It's almost that simple in the US if your situation is that simple. What happens in NZ if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay? What if you earned $1k in returns on your investment account? What if you are renting your place out on Airbnb? If all you have is a simple income in the US, then the 1040ez is a single page and you can file it for free online if you make under a certain amount. You can…

>if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay?

This hurts my head to think about. According to CNN, 20% of large corporations pay almost nothing in corporate taxes.[1]

1 - http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/13/pf/taxes/gao-corporate-taxes...

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#206

Post by ransom1538 » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:32 AM UTC

jwilliams wrote: post #202

xupybd wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes you have to file an IR3 if you make other income. http://www.ird.govt.nz/income-tax-individual/end-year/ir3/ii... My favourite part of our tax system is the advice to file if you have "income from an illegal enterprise" EDIT: Just as a reply to the original point. I'm not sure how complicated the US system is. I'm not trying to say it's bad either, it just seems to me that we have a system similar to the one that…

I'm not sure how complicated the US system is FYI - At various stages of my life I've filed in New Zealand, Australia, UK, Switzerland and the US (California). I can't generalize to all persons, but I do have a decent spread of countries in my own experience - and the US was by some serious margin the most complicated.

It isn't that bad in the US using turbo tax. Just remember to answer no to receiving payments from the "Ottoman Turkish Empire Settlement". (Actual question).

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#207

Post by sshumaker » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:33 AM UTC

This is one of the reasons Credit Karma launched a totally free online tax product this year (https://creditkarma.com/tax). (We view this similarly to credit scores a decade ago, when everyone advertising "free" was a bait and switch).

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#208

Post by mhalle » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:38 AM UTC

ticviking wrote: post #180

laser wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the first paragraph, "Meanwhile, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposed a bill yesterday to allow free government-prepped returns."

You seem to be confusing, gratis, and Taxpayer-funded.

The IRS is already essentially doing your taxes already (certainly for the most common and straightforward returns): they have to verify your statement. The actual computation is trivial (for them).

"Doing your taxes" mostly involves showing you their calculations. It's almost a freedom of information issue.

Compared to the cost of private prep and filing, it basically does seem free (gratis). And even if you choose to dispute or file independently, such a program could save each filer time and money by providing a base document; you would just provide diffs.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#209

Post by waqf » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:43 AM UTC

scurvy wrote: post #158

scurvy wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Married filing jointly is one of the more sexist things codified in US law. It basically says women make no money and the man has to provide for everyone with a big salary so deductions and credits for the big earner. Or it says that if you're a dual income bunch of shmucks, that your wife must make 80% of what you do. Think about when these laws were written and look at it through a historical context. Once you do,…

Since some people are downvoting for bad reasons, I'll just toss in this anecdote: My parents were audited by the IRS for 5 years straight. They were convinced that my father "was hiding income through losses in your wife's business." My father was a surgeon; my mom ran an antiques shop. The IRS auditors setup camp in our living room for a month going on five years. That quote was straight from the lead auditor's mou…

If married filing jointly is sexist, why does it have the same income brackets irrespective of the sexes of the people in the marriage?

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)

#210

Post by YokoZar » Mon, Mar 13, 2017, 2:44 AM UTC

wallace_f wrote: post #205

jjeaff wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's almost that simple in the US if your situation is that simple. What happens in NZ if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay? What if you earned $1k in returns on your investment account? What if you are renting your place out on Airbnb? If all you have is a simple income in the US, then the 1040ez is a single page and you can file it for free online if you make under a certain amount. You can…

>if you make $400 selling vintage cabbage patch dolls on eBay? This hurts my head to think about. According to CNN, 20% of large corporations pay almost nothing in corporate taxes.[1] 1 - http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/13/pf/taxes/gao-corporate-taxes...

And if you incorporated your ebay business, it would likely pay very little in taxes too. But then you'd take the same income as wages and pay the same income taxes you did before you had a legal title on your business.