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California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

latimes.com

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Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#91

Post by cpfohl »

ValleZ wrote: post #70
nightski wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have all these assets and your time is valuable I imagine you can cough up a few $ to pay a local tax accountant. I do this for my single member company, it costs $150 each year. Very worth it and a small price to pay. They even do a quick review of my books. At this point I am familiar enough with all the forms that I could probably do it myself in less than an hour. But I don't mind supporting the accountant…

I paid 600 usd last year fora tax accountant. He couldn't even do the most easiest part (1040 with stocks and dividend), and after struggling with him we didn't even proceed with the multistate reports I needed. It was complete waste of time and if I didn't check the result it would be also a waste of money and potential criminal action.

You need to find a different accountant, my tax situation is as _least_ as complex as yours and has involved multiple states several times. I've never had an issue with sending him a large dump of files photos and notes and he's worked it out each time.

Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#92

Post by mcherm »

fighterpilot wrote: post #55
Closi wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically, as a fellow Brit you will know that for most people your tax just happens automatically (typically through the PAYE system, so tax is taken before you get your paycheck, and we never have to even think about it). Then in the UK if you have more complex tax affairs, then you have to fill in a self assessment on the government portal (where it already knows most of your tax information, and you are pretty mu…

Do private tax prep companies have an argument they advance about why automatic filing is a bad idea? Or is it just pure behind scenes lobbying?

The argument that they advance is that if we allowed government supported automatic filing, then people would no longer be able to take advantage of the free filing program that Intuit offers to low income households.

What they don't mention is that this free filing offer is used by significantly less than 5% of the eligible taxpayers. Probably because Intuit advertises it very little and within the product very heavily hints that you should switch to a paid product instead.

Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#93

Post by jjulius »

golemotron wrote: post #54
nightski wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe it's a common theme with California's draconian politics being ineffective.

The nation is pretty tired of California and NY trying to save it.

Are you speaking for everyone? I feel like this needs a citation.

Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#94

Post by wincy »

bogota wrote: post #10

I 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 do…

You could be like me and not file it until the sheriff shows up at your door saying you owe money and that you have a month to pay. (Don’t be like me)

Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#95

Post by missinfo »

junon wrote: post #3

Intuit 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…

"They persuaded the Internal Revenue Service for more than a decade..."

"The tax preparation industry guided Washington down a different path."

Be even more upset with the IRS and politicians. They are literally responsible for this. They make the laws. Don't let them shift blame. They should have told Intuit to pound sand. This is like a kid that gets caught doing something bad and blames their friends. They told me to do it! It's their fault.

Here would be the honest translation: I took their money and went against the best interests of my voters, and now I'm going to shift all blame while accepting no responsibility for my actions. Furthermore, I'm going to reframe this as though I was the good guy trying to save you.

Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#96

Post by AnthonyMouse »

1cvmask wrote: post #58

So we should continue to vote for the politicians who do the public such a service. I fail to see Intuit as the evil company. The politicians that the public votes for are not even responsible. It is the public that votes for them that is at fault. That is the real harsh truth. No one to blame but “ourselves”. I would always be baffled by friends who would decry outcomes but continue to vote for those who created the…

The real problem here is structural. We need approval voting/range voting, and for more of the "executive branch but really still regulatory" positions to be elected rather than appointed.

Right now you say "vote for politicians who do good things" and then every politician is found to be doing some good things and some bad things with their opponent doing the opposite, and someone doing a higher proportion of good things can't get on the ballot because first past the post voting results in a two party system.

Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#97

Post by glitcher »

1cvmask wrote: post #58

So we should continue to vote for the politicians who do the public such a service. I fail to see Intuit as the evil company. The politicians that the public votes for are not even responsible. It is the public that votes for them that is at fault. That is the real harsh truth. No one to blame but “ourselves”. I would always be baffled by friends who would decry outcomes but continue to vote for those who created the…

This feels like a bit of an oversimplification to me. Big lobbying money works, and it seems to me it tends to work no matter who you voted for the vast majority of the time. Finding politicians to vote for who can't be bought for any price are probably rare, and we have a lot of offices to fill across the country.

I agree that taking a hard, sober look at how we ourselves vote is a good thing, but I doubt it is the magic silver bullet to our problems.

Re: California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in

#99

Post by coldpie »

0x0nyandesu wrote: post #6

This 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

I just do it by hand on paper. For folks with just some W-2s and maybe some light investing stuff (no, this isn't everyone, but it is a lot of people), it only takes an hour or two to do by hand and the instructions are actually pretty decent.
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