Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm an immigrant. I consider it a blessing to be able to do so.
I'm an immigrant. I consider it robbery to be intimidated by force into paying taxes.
You also consider it a right to drive on roads?
How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
231–240 of 454 posts
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There is simply no reason whatsoever not to implement return-free filing, beyond the large dollar amounts tax industry lobbyists spend on the Hill. It's not all Intuit lobbying. Many politicians of a particular faction oppose return free filing because they want to keep tax proxess as painful as possible to make people emotionally susceptible to anti-tax and, more generally, anti-government rhetoric.
Government which stays in power based on people's anti-government sentiment, isn't that something.
Welcome to the United States! We are governed by people who don't believe in government. :)
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
U.s. govt uses tax code to incentive behaviors. We have 1040ez which is almost as simple as the NZ system if citizens don't want or have any deductions.
This really has nothing to do with the topic, every country uses tax codes in that way we just have a simplified system to calculate and pay taxes in other countries
I think the comment has everything to do with it: every time you use the tax code to legislate the behavior and choices of the people, it causes the tax code to become less simple by the very fact that the citizen now has to track that behavior. For example, take charitable donations. Because they're tax deductible, I have to track them, or forfeit the deduction. That's extra, manual work that must be done. Now multiply that out for every behavior that some congressman thinks should be encouraged, and it shouldn't be surprised that the taxes are complicated.
A tax form is essentially a giant function, but one with tons of inputs. It can only be automated once all the inputs are known (essentially, that's the job of tax software). The only person that has all of those inputs is you, so you're forced to buy TurboTax to be able to reasonably input and evaluate taxes.
If you're thinking that all these inputs could ever be tracked by the federal government in a giant database, I still think it's crazy: you'd need a database for student loan interest paid, which every loan organization reports to, for charitable donations, for stock purchases, for stock sales, for dependents, etc. (I don't even know how you'd begin to track dependents, aside from how we do it now: manually.)
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Why would anyone oppose a simple system like this? Because you want to make people angry and upset at least once a year at the government? Because you want to remind people that taxes are something the government takes, instead of letting them think of taxes as money they never earned to begin with. I love paying my taxes, but if you think taxes are bad (and lots of people do), then the current U.S. system makes to…
You... love paying taxes?
Yes. I love paying taxes. Not because I like having less money in my bank account, but because I understand what paying taxes represents.
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#235I 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…
U.s. govt uses tax code to incentive behaviors. We have 1040ez which is almost as simple as the NZ system if citizens don't want or have any deductions.
The 1040EZ has a long list of requirements that can exclude someone from filing with it; including, in some circumstances, those with otherwise simple tax situations (1 job with 1 income).
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
One thing that is not 1040EZ is charity donations. I mean we could kill all charity deductions but not sure NGOs would be happy about it.
Do we get more value out of charity donations by normal people than we lose in charities being used as a tax-privileged vehicle for rich people to exert their desire on the world? Also, charitable donations have weird constraints. My church would like to end deportations of undocumented immigrants based on our reading of Leviticus 19:34, and the most effective way to do that would have been to campaign against certai…
First, your distinction between "normal people", which are moral, and "rich people", who are just evil, are kind of disgusting. Having a lot of money doesn't automatically make one evil (to remove all suspicion, I am not rich and likely never will be, at least by US standards :). I'm not sure what your point is there, but it doesn't sound good.
> the most effective way to do that would have been to campaign against certain presidential candidates
That's certainly not the most effective way. US law has very clear immigration provisions, which require certain documentation, and US president swears to uphold the law. Most efficient strategy would be to change the law, thus voting for specific - namely, open-border - candidate for Congress, that can change the law so that US has immigration procedures no longer, and thus does not have to deport people who violate them. Note that I did not say "efficient" but "most efficient" - I see no really efficient strategy that would make US a country without immigration law anytime soon, and having such law, it is natural to have to enforce it - otherwise there's no point in having it.
In any case, nothing prevents you to from campaigning for or against any policy or any candidate, be it open border or not, as a private person or as a part of an organized effort. Why you need the church to do it? Just create an independent organization and campaign as your hear pleases.
> I'm obviously not inclined to say "Please start taxing my church,"
If you register a non-profit and make all the requirements that tax-exempt non-profits have, and do charitable work and so on, nothing prevents you from calling your organization "church", but I don't see why doing so should give you any special status not available to any other nonprofit. And if it doesn't qualify as nonprofit, then it should be taxed by the same rules as the rest of organizations are.
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Why would anyone oppose a simple system like this? Because you want to make people angry and upset at least once a year at the government? Because you want to remind people that taxes are something the government takes, instead of letting them think of taxes as money they never earned to begin with. I love paying my taxes, but if you think taxes are bad (and lots of people do), then the current U.S. system makes to…
You... love paying taxes?
I think people from countries with free education and health care are ok with taxes. Me included.
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#238I 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…
The United States has a complicated tax code because it attempts to make things more "fair" for some people. Some of these are things people like, such as deductions for people with children, paying mortage, etc. Some are more dubious.
Why is it fair to give a deduction for mortgage? Buying a home instead of renting is just choosing to invest in real estate instead of anything else you might invest in. Why artificially subsidize one extremely illiquid and volatile type of investment?
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
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).
Why should I have to pay $100 to file my taxes?
Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing (2013)
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sure. Let's focus on the individual return first. In terms of businesses, I hold somewhat controversial belief that businesses should not be taxed. Their employees are taxed, and people recieving dividends are taxed. By not taxing businesses, we'd also balance out the unfairness in the system today, where large companies are able to offset all profits with deductions, and small companies which actually pay quite a bi…
That would only be reasonable if you think that only poor and middle-income people should pay taxes. Everyone else would be able to opt out via a series of corporate shells.
They're already doing that.