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)

#451

Post by SpaceRaccoon » Tue, Mar 14, 2017, 5:06 PM UTC

simonh wrote: post #380

SpaceRaccoon wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, funding a $600 billion military industrial complex [0]. Just think, your complete yearly taxes were probably almost enough for a single JDAM [1] which was then dropped on Iraq, in a war where 13% of all civilians were killed directly by US-led forces [2], and many more in the chaos that ensued from the invasion. But you love it. [0] - https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spendi... [1] - https://…

The problem with that isn't taxation, it's voting in people who approve that spending. UK tax payer here, so the specifics are different, but I have no problem paying my taxes. We have decent free health care, a capable and I think 'right sized' armed forces for our needs, competent policing and security services and my children get free education. If any of those things were not true I wouldn't necessarily want my t…

I agree. The outrage is how taxes are spent. If my tax dollars are used poorly then it's difficult to feel good about paying them.

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

#452

Post by josefresco » Wed, Mar 15, 2017, 1:45 PM UTC

kobeya wrote: post #448

josefresco wrote: post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A large military "in reserve" becomes stagnant, and unable to operate in new real world conflicts. Look at the Vietnam war, or the current conflict in the Ukraine. Tactics change, and large militaries bent on keeping their swollen budgets in tact are poor at responding to emerging threats. My point is that these smaller conflicts (albeit mostly misguided) are useful to guide and reform strategy, tactics and spending.

So we should kill a couple of hundred thousand people every decade or so to keep our game up? Seems pretty indefensible. I'd rather invest a much smaller amount of money into honest red team war gaming.

I said they're useful, I don't agree or advocate the strategy. Like it or not (I do not) small regional conflicts teach valuable lessons that cannot be learned in training, or during "war gaming". When the enemy possess weapons or tactics that you have not seen used, or demonstrated they cannot be integrated into a war game. Look at the upgraded armor, drone usage, IED detection/suppression, sniper detection developed for and used in the middle east. This barely existed (maybe in concept) before the conflicts of the 00's. Similar lessons are being learned in the Ukraine right now (counter drone operations, active tank armor, electronic warfare/signal jamming etc.)

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

#453

Post by futureunknown » Thu, Mar 16, 2017, 10:09 PM UTC

mb_72 wrote: post #344

I have experience as a tax payer in Estonia (employee only) and Australia (employee and business owner). In Estonia I login to my bank with my citizens ID card, click through a few screens ... and my tax return is done. All the financial information supplied by my employer to the government is immediately visible and checkable, not to mention donations made to tax-deductable organisations is also immediately visible.…

@mb_72 sorry for being off-topic and direct - did you move from Australia to Estonia? If so, why?

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

#454

Post by Qwertious » Sun, Mar 26, 2017, 4:04 PM UTC

SpaceRaccoon wrote: post #279

chasing wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I love paying taxes. Not because I like having less money in my bank account, but because I understand what paying taxes represents.

Yes, funding a $600 billion military industrial complex [0]. Just think, your complete yearly taxes were probably almost enough for a single JDAM [1] which was then dropped on Iraq, in a war where 13% of all civilians were killed directly by US-led forces [2], and many more in the chaos that ensued from the invasion. But you love it. [0] - https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spendi... [1] - https://…

The $600 billion figure is misleading when compared to other countries, as it's not adjusted for cost of living, cost of countries we trust (and therefore buy arms from) also having a higher cost of living, etc.