California tried to save the nation from tax filing, then Intuit stepped in • Hacker News Board

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

#101

Post by pydry » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:33 PM UTC

ashtonkem wrote: post #82

Going to paraphrase a quote from a podcast that stuck with me. > What (the left) needs to do is clear out rents. Not just housing rents, but rent seekers. The economy is riddled through with people who do nothing, but get paid because structurally that’s who gets paid. Intuit is one of those companies. They produce a few real products, QuickBooks for businesses and Mint, but overwhelmingly their money comes from the…

The left doesnt really have any power in the US.

What passes for the left (the socially liberal corporate elites that run most of the democratic party) are pretty much just as invested in protecting the rentiers as the right wing.

Rentier money is structurally geared towards destroying any populist politicians who threaten their rents. It was a fluke that AOC won given her Democratic opponent (when she was unknown) outspent her something like 7:1. People like her arent supposed to slip through the early stage political filter.

If they do slip through there's also an enormously powerful and effective propaganda machine dedicated to character assassination.

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

#102

Post by rafale » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:34 PM UTC

xyzzy21 wrote: post #78

I have "simple enough" taxes that I don't need software. I recently found out that California has the third WORST average IQ as a state (95.5) and that only confirms that 1) I made the right decision to leave California, and 2) ANYTHING California comes up with is almost certainly NOT a good thing by definition that it came from California!!!

We don't mention IQ around here. It explains too much. Too much to handle. Enjoy your downvotes.

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

#103

Post by burkaman » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:35 PM UTC

missinfo wrote: post #95

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…

If I found out my kid's friend gave them $1000 to jump off a bridge, I think I'd be equally mad at both of them.

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

#104

Post by teekert » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:36 PM UTC

The US is such a stressful country, tax filing, healthcare, none of these basic things just work. Add to that the lawyers culture and you get a good basis for emotion filled Netflix dramas, but not really for real life.

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

#105

Post by double_nan » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:36 PM UTC

dartharva wrote: post #74

I don't understand what kind of mental gymnastics it takes for policymakers to impede paying taxes . How absurd is it that the government would rather make it difficult for its citizens to give it money!? ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)

There is absolutely no problem to give money to the government. Filing in taxes with extra is fast and easy. Filing for the exact sum is hard.

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

#106

Post by tromp » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:36 PM UTC

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…

Why assign all the blame to Intuit?

> They persuaded the Internal Revenue Service for more than a decade to pledge in writing not to adopt California’s innovation or develop any other offerings that threatened their business model.

I think the IRS deserves much of the blame for yielding to Intuit's persuasion.

Every American should be upset with both Intuit and the IRS.

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

#107

Post by tnli » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:37 PM UTC

For most Finns (bar the self-employed, business owners, and the very rich) filing taxes is like 15 minutes per year when you want to add some deductions the tax man wouldn't already know about.

It's literally 0 minutes, if you don't have deductions.

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

#108

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:38 PM UTC

xyzzy21 wrote: post #78

I have "simple enough" taxes that I don't need software. I recently found out that California has the third WORST average IQ as a state (95.5) and that only confirms that 1) I made the right decision to leave California, and 2) ANYTHING California comes up with is almost certainly NOT a good thing by definition that it came from California!!!

[deleted]

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

#109

Post by jcheng » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:39 PM UTC

dpweb wrote: post #59

_jal wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't find tax filing to be particularly difficult. That's nice. You still might care that we collectively waste an enormous amount of time doing it, unnecessarily, for the benefit of Intuit (and some cranks who want people angry about taxes). If you still don't care, I'll be taking a few hours of your labor per year for my around the house work. It isn't particularly difficult work, no big deal, right?

I won't argue that the whole system is stuck in the 20th century, but there is a little bit of "big companies and taxes are evil and I'm oppressed!" going on here. I understand not everyone has an easy time with it. But today, 70% of Americans can file for free. Some version of optional auto-filing I have no problem with. As far as a private company trying to protect it's revenue, there are far more egregious example…

The Free File program may as well not exist. The fact that it was mostly delegated to companies whose success depends on its failure, means that its lack of adoption should surprise no one.

70% are eligible but only 2.4% use it: https://amp.freep.com/amp/4679338002

Here’s just one example of Intuit kneecapping its Free File offering: https://www.propublica.org/article/turbotax-deliberately-hid...

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

#110

Post by missinfo » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC

burkaman wrote: post #103

missinfo wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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…

If I found out my kid's friend gave them $1000 to jump off a bridge, I think I'd be equally mad at both of them.

Sure, but in this case these are adults and they know exactly what they are doing. Intuit didn't force them by gunpoint. The politicians have agency here and are ultimately responsible. They chose to put their donors over their voters. And now they are trying to frame this as though they are hapless victims who tried to save the nation? No.