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TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

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Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#351

Post by musicale »

mars4rp wrote: post #193

I am the developer in charge of CalFile, the free filing software that everyone asks for here for state of California. https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/ways-to-file/online/calfile/inde... I am pushing so hard to make it better and more useful to more people, like being able to add capital gain that is not currently supported. these are the push backs that I am getting: 1. Last time they tried to do what all of you ask, a…

> 1. Last time they tried to do what all of you ask, a ready return. TurboTax and others hired bunch of lobbyist and put so much pressure on people here and killed the project. People are still afraid and don't want to do too much to grab the attention of their lobbyist!

This is insane. Where are the actual citizens at the negotiating table?

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#352

Post by Someone »

0xffff2 wrote: post #262
CDRdude wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The newspapers will charge you to run the ad. They have no reason to print that info for free.

Of course, but surely that aren't going to charge you anywhere near $1000.

”unless I pay them $1000 to publish the name of my LLC in two public newspapers for six weeks, one daily newspaper and one weekly newspaper”

Reading that as “one daily newspaper and one weekly newspaper”, that would be 6 (weeks) times at least (6 + 1) = 42 adverts in a newspaper (I can also read it as “2 public, one daily and one weekly”. That would increase the number of adverts). Price per advert would be about $25.

I guess most LLCs get incorporated in an at least somewhat large city, so the circulation of the paper will be somewhat high. $25 per advert then doesn’t sound that bad to me.

I know zilch of advertising prices, though, so let’s google it. Reading https://fitsmallbusiness.com/newspaper-advertising-costs/ (a link that google gave me, but that I don’t know the quality of), I see the price per “column inch” go down from about €18 to about €13 when you advertise more often.

⇒ it could well be that $1,000 is a fair price, giving the higher price you would have to pay and the amount of work you would have to do if you did it alone.

(Still seems a weird law, though. I can imagine that one should give people to object if your company will be noisy, stinky, or the like, but then, the city, IMO, should require a permit)

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#353

Post by delfinom »

r0m4n0 wrote: post #158

A few weeks ago I started an LLC in New York. I followed all the simple instructions online and the process was actually very straightforward and easy. I had an official digital copy of proof my LLC existed within an hour. I went to sleep with and thought that there is hope for our government. Within a few days I received a letter from a private company informing me that unless I pay them $1000 to publish the name of…

Ah, this.

1. Please ignore almost all the mail you get initially. There are public companies that troll NYS business registration logs and send TONS of false and highly misleading if not illegal advertisements. "You totally need this $900 OSHA poster you can just print for free and paste on the wall". "Ignore the fact we copied NYS' letterhead but aren't a governemnt entity", etc.

2. The NYS tax department will send you one real piece of mail as a questionnaire.

3. Yes, the newspaper requirement is real and fucking terrible. It's a very old holdover however politicians don't want to get rid of it because quite literally, it's a handout program for newspapers. It would make alot of "local" papers nobody reads, close up shops.

4. Shop around, there are a few ways to save money on it. Honestly, I made a LLC 2 years ago in NYS and haven't even used it business wise. I have yet to do the publicatinon requirement. You just can't legally do business until you do so BUT it doesn't give a deadline.

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#354

Post by NeedMoreTea »

GeneralTspoon wrote: post #349
r0m4n0 wrote: post #158

A few weeks ago I started an LLC in New York. I followed all the simple instructions online and the process was actually very straightforward and easy. I had an official digital copy of proof my LLC existed within an hour. I went to sleep with and thought that there is hope for our government. Within a few days I received a letter from a private company informing me that unless I pay them $1000 to publish the name of…

In the UK, if you want to close a company you must do the same (pay ~£300 to post notice in a paper that your company is closing). I think the idea is that anyone who the company owes money to can file a claim before any remaining funds are distributed. Of course there are much better and more cost-effective ways of doing this (even pre-internet). It’s just absurd rent-seeking by unproductive leeches on the economy a…

It's not a notice in just a paper. It's a notice in the paper of public record. Which in the UK is the London Gazette, that you are almost certainly never going to see in a newsagents. There are laws requiring notices in that publication, and IIRC it's still government owned.

They publish notice of all laws, all insolvencies, all changes of name, new holder of certain public offices etc. I don't think there is any news or anything beyond the UK.

I bet it would be 5x more if you had to take out an ad in the Times or Telegraph. :)

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#355

Post by musicale »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #310
toomuchtodo wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to say probably not. I've been pretty disappointed by the attempts of private industry to deliver what should be government infra (tax prep, healthcare, prisons, etc), while I'm super happy with my roads, police, fire, water, sewer, muni fiber, and the USPS (all government provided or backed).

I have 'volunteer' fire service out here in the country. And installed my own sewer. Police are essentially non-existent out here - I see a patrol car maybe once a year go by. And the USPS has been going broke for decades now. Not a good example of a well-run service.

USPS has also lost a massive amount of money due to being required to accept shipments from China at extremely low rates.

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#356

Post by delfinom »

cpwright wrote: post #316
0xffff2 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but why can't you just call up the newspapers directly and list whatever it is that the law requires?

You can do it cheaper through a publication company, because they've already negotiated rates with the publishers. Though $1000 seems excessive. In Westchester County, I paid $300. There is a large spread in fees that will be charged. I wrote to my state assembly person; she wrote back saying A8125 was introduced to repeal the requirement, but no action taken. I would encourage you to write to your assembly person an…

2017-2018 A8125 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/a8125

Unfortunately the numbers are year specific.

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#357

Post by scarejunba »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #331
pfranz wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It reminds me of the demonization of the IRS, they just carry out Congress' laws and funding. It's disingenuous when Congresspeople complain as they reduce their funding.

Plays well to the uneducated unfortunately.

Plays well to everyone because most people hate representatives but like their representative.

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#358

Post by ddingus »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #310
toomuchtodo wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm going to say probably not. I've been pretty disappointed by the attempts of private industry to deliver what should be government infra (tax prep, healthcare, prisons, etc), while I'm super happy with my roads, police, fire, water, sewer, muni fiber, and the USPS (all government provided or backed).

I have 'volunteer' fire service out here in the country. And installed my own sewer. Police are essentially non-existent out here - I see a patrol car maybe once a year go by. And the USPS has been going broke for decades now. Not a good example of a well-run service.

The only reason USPS has financial trouble is Congress mandated huge advance on payments for benefits many years into the future.

It runs excellently otherwise.

Congress did that. It's political. It can be undone.

Free market people want the USPS gone. Trouble is the Post Office is in the Constitution, must exist barring some Amendment, and must be run by the Federal Government.

None of those are bad things. The Post Office has been exemplary.

The trouble began during the Bush administration. Two things were done:

1. Rate changes that turn big bulk mailings for companies into a subsidy. Deep discounted rates. That was coupled with significant increases for ordinary people and smaller publishers. None of that made much sense.

2. Forced advanced payments on benefits. At the time it was done, there were people not even born yet, who would end up working for the Post, whose benefits were being paid now, basically.

It's crazy.

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#359

Post by PeterisP »

mmsimanga wrote: post #253
xtracto wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding a data point with Mexico: All invoices are digital. Every person who gets a TaxId also gets a Private/Public keypair and generating invoices means signing the document with that key. The amazing thing is that now accountants talk about the XML, which is the legal representation of the invoice. As a result, every year if you file your taxes, you go I to the government freely provided website , get into your acc…

What you have just said has thrown me into a tizz trying to understand what you have said. Could you please give a bit more practical details. Say I want to claim rent/transport/medical expenses. Will doctors, car rental place and landlords all issue me an electronic receipt?

Not from Mexico, so it might be different for them, but one way how this works in some places is that the tax office gets all the electronic receipts from all the cash register/POS systems anyway, since that's how they monitor sales/vat/excise/etc taxes paid by the merchant and reduce the risks of "under the counter" sales where fake receipts are issued but taxes not paid on the sale.

So if the doctor's office punches in my legal ID number with the receipt (or if the ID gets added automatically from the billing system that a large hospital would have), then when the office sends all their receipt files to the tax office, the tax office will automatically add that electronic receipt to my tax deduction.

Re: TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans from Filing Taxes for Free

#360

Post by ddingus »

musicale wrote: post #351
mars4rp wrote: post #193

I am the developer in charge of CalFile, the free filing software that everyone asks for here for state of California. https://www.ftb.ca.gov/file/ways-to-file/online/calfile/inde... I am pushing so hard to make it better and more useful to more people, like being able to add capital gain that is not currently supported. these are the push backs that I am getting: 1. Last time they tried to do what all of you ask, a…

> 1. Last time they tried to do what all of you ask, a ready return. TurboTax and others hired bunch of lobbyist and put so much pressure on people here and killed the project. People are still afraid and don't want to do too much to grab the attention of their lobbyist! This is insane. Where are the actual citizens at the negotiating table?

Pushed out by money.

There are efforts to fund politics on small donations. I'm on board.

Consider looking into them.

Honestly, the citizens will have no place at the policy table, until they take some seats on their own dime.

So, that's happening. Ideally, other changes can be made, but to even get at those, some power is required.

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