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Killing TurboTax

kunle.app

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Re: Killing TurboTax

#491

Post by Rebelgecko »

azog_alone wrote: post #316
bob1029 wrote: post #298

"Killing TurboTax" is essentially a meme until we meaningfully simplify the tax code. There is no software development team on earth who could catch up with the full capabilities of TurboTax without some sort of fundamental shift in the business. I really hate to say this as someone who makes a living out of it, but dealing with the current amount of complexity in the tax code with a piece of software that a non-expe…

The reason the tax code is so complicated is BECAUSE OF TurboTax. They lobby heavily to keep things complex and have brought down potential competitors through legal means. As such, "killing TurboTax" is the correct first step.

I don't think that's true. The US has used tax laws as a way to effect policies since before Turbotax existed. I think the mortgage interest deduction goes back 100+ years

Re: Killing TurboTax

#492

Post by Shaliber »

AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #486
anadem wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single party rule would be true only if the Senate was not encumbered by the filibuster.

That might be a notion too drenched in game theory. The filibuster itself is not some sort of switch that gets flipped. The parties need to be careful how often they use it and for which reasons. It's just a part of the procedural possibilities and its effectiveness is not some sort of set-in-stone rule. In our particular case right now, the reason the Senate does not allow us single-party rule is due to the makeup o…

This is incredibly naive of the current way the filibuster is employed. There is no care in how it's used because the line in the sand has gone from "did you vote on bill" to "did you block bill from being voted on" for attack ads. How can you say we're "careful" when it's tripled in usage.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/20...

The current reason we care about a few senators is because we are looking at budget reconciliation where you only need 50 votes. Outside of that you need 60 votes or you get filibustered.

Re: Killing TurboTax

#494

Post by the_arun »

Note that - Tax business is not scalable if you are looking for a year long activity in business. Tax season is from Jan to April 15th. After Apr 15, your teams & infrastructure have to scale down.

Re: Killing TurboTax

#495

Post by kn0where »

kleton wrote: post #476
masklinn wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The IRS themselves need to provide this "auto tax" service. Interestingly, they now can: under the Free File program, tax prep companies would offer free filing (for taxpayers below 72k AGI) and the IRS would not compete with their service. After a ProPublica investigation in their dark pattern shenanigans (leading to about 3.5% of taxpayers to use the program when 70% are eligible) confirmed by the HSGA Senate Com…

> the GOP We now have an opportunity to test your hypothesis- for at least two years there will be single party rule by the other party.

Ah yes, the Democrats, who will do nothing because:

- Many of them will virtue signal on Twitter but are uninterested in actually challenging oppressive power structures as they exist.

- They have the slimmest of majorities, requiring either bipartisan support (lol) or the support of “moderate Democrats” whose positions are at best center-right. Republicans were in this position for the first two years of Trump, and they couldn’t get any signature legislative achievements but their tax bill passed. The same is likely to be true for Democrats this time around (a watered down stimulus bill passed through budget reconciliation).

- The American system of government is a vetocracy that leads to resentment over government’s inability to govern/keep promises made when campaigning.

- The complication of being beholden to corporate cash. Great ROI for Intuit and every other company that benefits from nothing substantially changing in America. Being beholden to corporate cash is the strongest form of bipartisanship in America.

Re: Killing TurboTax

#496

Post by kn0where »

leereeves wrote: post #482
anadem wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Single party rule would be true only if the Senate was not encumbered by the filibuster.

The majority party can remove the filibuster rule anytime it likes, as they have done for several special cases in recent years.

The current majority party has just enough DINOs to prevent that from happening.

Re: Killing TurboTax

#497

Post by HNfriend234 »

kn0where wrote: post #495
kleton wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the GOP We now have an opportunity to test your hypothesis- for at least two years there will be single party rule by the other party.

Ah yes, the Democrats, who will do nothing because: - Many of them will virtue signal on Twitter but are uninterested in actually challenging oppressive power structures as they exist. - They have the slimmest of majorities, requiring either bipartisan support (lol) or the support of “moderate Democrats” whose positions are at best center-right. Republicans were in this position for the first two years of Trump, and…

But reddit and NH told me that the democrats weren't like Trump, how can this be!?!?!

Re: Killing TurboTax

#498

Post by AndrewUnmuted »

Shaliber wrote: post #492
AndrewUnmuted wrote: post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That might be a notion too drenched in game theory. The filibuster itself is not some sort of switch that gets flipped. The parties need to be careful how often they use it and for which reasons. It's just a part of the procedural possibilities and its effectiveness is not some sort of set-in-stone rule. In our particular case right now, the reason the Senate does not allow us single-party rule is due to the makeup o…

This is incredibly naive of the current way the filibuster is employed. There is no care in how it's used because the line in the sand has gone from "did you vote on bill" to "did you block bill from being voted on" for attack ads. How can you say we're "careful" when it's tripled in usage. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/20... The current reason we care about a few senators is because we ar…

Your own article proves my very point:

> Note that, in some cases, filibustered bills were eventually passed but with substantial concessions to the senators blocking the original bill.

We have clearly seen over the past many decades an evolution in the kinds of bills we pass, and I think it's quite easy to observe that controversial bills are front-loaded specifically to combat this. The negotiations have changed to meet the needs of the new battlefield.

Perhaps this is "naive," of me but the kinds of bills the Senate has passed recently have me surprised its use has only gone up 3x.

Re: Killing TurboTax

#499

Post by enos_feedler »

paulpan wrote: post #474
enos_feedler wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No rule changes needed. Apple is at the point where they are really pushing up against the limits of consumer spending. Spending $140 on TurboTax is a prime target. Thats $140 where a fraction can get funneled back to Apple purchases. It is now worth it for them to make sure iPhone users never reach a TurboTax checkout flow. Apple is just getting started with finances built right into the iPhone. The credit card is a…

Interesting take. If it really comes to pass, will Apple be preferable to Intuit? Or for that matter, would Google or Robinhood enter the industry?

I use TurboTax and I can't wait to get off it. They nag you to upgrade. The web app UX is really bad. I would certainly use whatever solution Apple provided if it was easy and supported my use case. I have complex tax situations.

With Apple it's like anything else, if you are fully bought into the ecosystem it's going to be the best. I think there is a reason Apple Card isn't compatible with Intuit Mint right now. From a privacy and business model standpoint, Apple thinks they can do better. What I think we'll see soon is a budgeting tool similar to Mint built into the iPhone, with the Apple Card supported and a way to link 3rd party credit cards, with a pro-privacy data sharing model. Apple spins up a bank account for you via Goldman Sachs new platform. Apple encourages/incentivizes payroll deposits. Tax filing gets added to this product.

Re: Killing TurboTax

#500

Post by powersnail »

anadem wrote: post #479
kleton wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the GOP We now have an opportunity to test your hypothesis- for at least two years there will be single party rule by the other party.

Single party rule would be true only if the Senate was not encumbered by the filibuster.

I sometimes feel surreal that US Congress people get paid to professionally kill time.
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