California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
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Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#2Anyone got a tldr for a Brit staring at a paywall?
Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#3Intuit is such an evil company. Now that I've moved to Germany, I know what it feels like not to have to file every year (I still have to for the US but it's trivial now due to FIEC).
There's nobody hounding you here, no stress regarding your taxes unless you're filing for a return or have extenuating circumstances, and even then there's a government-provided online portal for direct communication with the Finanzamt (finance department).
Every American should be upset with Intuit.
Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#4Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#5Anyone got a tldr for a Brit staring at a paywall?
Reader mode works, in Firefox at least.
It's nothing new for a frequent reader of HN. California ran a trial of automatic tax filings in 2005, Intuit persuaded the IRS to adopt no such system, the government mandated a free file system run by the commercial providers for eligible people, the providers used dark patterns to direct free file eligible users to paid options. Current democrats and former california republicans are quoted as being for actual automatic filing, some anecodotes from people who had been pushed by the software companies to paid options.
Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#6This is why I always pirate TurboTax and deleted my Mint years ago.
Fuck intuit.
Oh and before someone asks me why I feel comfortable doing that security wise...I do it on an airgapped machine and print the return out and mail it in. Ezpz
Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#7Intuit is such an evil company. Now that I've moved to Germany, I know what it feels like not to have to file every year (I still have to for the US but it's trivial now due to FIEC). There's nobody hounding you here, no stress regarding your taxes unless you're filing for a return or have extenuating circumstances, and even then there's a government-provided online portal for direct communication with the Finanzamt…
But only für employees! As an independent or small company owner you have todo it every year.
Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#8At the risk of being a non-popular opinion, I don't find tax filing to be particularly difficult. Maybe its because my job is to solve pretty hard problems all day. But the average person/family who doesn't itemize have a Sched C, it's quite easy.
The thing to understand about filing is that (particularly for W2 wage earners) you're not telling the Government how much you made and how much you owe. They know that already.
If you make a mistake in your filing, good or bad, they will send you a friendly letter correcting your mistake. The filing is just acknowledging the debt to them.
Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#9Intuit is the worst kind of company, but anyone who has dealt with the tax authorities in California would probably tell you to take the state's stated intentions with a grain of salt, or 1000.
The California FTB would love to tell you how much money it thinks you owe them, have you not question them, and make your life hell if you think they messed up.
While it's fair to say that lower-income W2 taxpayers are probably easier to calculate for, don't assume that the California FTB would go out of its way to help taxpayers.
Just a sample of the nastiness and incompetence that is the FTB: https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/11/21/franchise-tax-boa...
Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in
#10I hate wasting at least a day if not more of my life every year filing. As time goes on and i have more assets the time to file goes up as well and gathering all the required documents with every bank having different timelines is a nightmare.
But what can I do about it? I would imagine if it went to a vote overwhelmingly people would say no I don’t want to file like this every year. But here we are and honestly I don’t have much energy left these days to be mad about anything as it’s wearing on my health.