Congress Is About to Ban the US Government from Offering Free Online Tax Filing

Post by mac01021 » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 7:47 AM UTC

rebuilder wrote: post #425

Dig1t wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, you're right that people in that camp are unlikely to review their tax filings from their 3rd party. However there is an incentive for that 3rd part tax company to save their customer as much as they possibly can. The bigger the refund, the happier the customer and the more likely they are to come back next year and give you more money. In the Planet Money episode they spoke with the Republican dude and his bigg…

If private tax filing products saved money for their users, as compared to a hypothetical, IRS-produced product, what are these companies worried about? They'd have a clear competitive advantage over the IRS product.

Post by rxhernandez » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 7:52 AM UTC

hrktb wrote: post #469

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will say, vote with your dollars. If you don't like Intuit's lobbying, please don't feed the beast and use their services.

I might be getting old, but more and more I see “vote with your XXXXX” to be the litmus test for situations there is no decent solution left anymore. It’s not even an advice in the end, just a reminder the customer lost the battle, and the only alternative is to leave the field with what’s left on their posession to go roam the desert.

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 7:57 AM UTC

lozenge wrote: post #480

arcticbull wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly if a company exists solely to solve an inefficiency they lobby to create, that’s not something I care to defend. Taxes are in the public interest and as such profit is just not a concern of mine. There’s plenty of other ways to make money than regulatory capture and rent seeking. I want the IRS to do what’s best for Americans and that is either providing a way to file free of charge or eliminating the comple…

The IRS isn't authorised to simplify the tax code, it would have to be Congress.

Post by retromario » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 7:59 AM UTC

germanier wrote: post #463

atoav wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Germany, which is said to have one of the most complicated tax systems known to man. If I had one (realistic) wish for a German government, it would be to do it like Finland. Sadly there is a whole branch of people working on this, without any interest to make it easier..

Just a few weeks ago, I logged into Elster, opened the pre-filled tax return (Belegabruf) and sent it. Instead, I could have filled the short and simple Vereinfachte Steuererklärung by hand which covers all common cases. Most workers don't need to do anything to get their overpaid tax back thanks to the Lohnsteuerjahresausgleich. They need to work on their marketing though.

Post by mac01021 » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 8:05 AM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #400

mindcandy wrote: post #399

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Politicians don’t put the bribes in their pockets. They put them in their re-election campaigns because without those bribes they will get voted out of office by The People in favor of an opponent with a larger, bribe-based ad budget. They don’t want the bribes, they need them just to stay in power. In return, the real goal of “access” is to hear what the bribing company wants written into law or else the bribes will…

> Politicians don’t put the bribes in their pockets. Yes, they do. All the time. > They put them in their re-election campaigns because without those bribes they will get voted out of office by The People in favor of an opponent with a larger, bribe-based ad budget. You kind of fail at corruption if you are getting bribes many times the annual salary of a job per year and are feeding them into nothing more than keepi…