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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

#111

Post by JackFr »

throwaway898989 wrote: post #71
elthran wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just Japan, also true for the UK with our Pay As You Earn system - you get assigned a tax code, and the appropriate amount is automatically deducted from your payslip. No need to file anything, and refunds/demands get generated automatically each year if you've been changing jobs/not working/other odd circumstances meaning that the amount you paid doesn't match what you were expected to

The "Pay-As-You-Earn" system was introduced in Australia and the UK during WW2 lol. The US has the same system its just been implemented extremely poorly

It's not that it's implemented poorly. It's that 1) the federal government collects multiple kinds of taxes out out of your paycheck. Social security, medicare and regular income tax are different. Income tax rates are progressive while the payroll taxes are flat but capped at a certain amount. 2) Additionally forty-two states have income taxes as do dozens of local municipalities. Consider that they also don't treat residents and non residents alike.

Consider a couple who live in New York City, where one partner works in Connecticut and the other works in New Jersey. There are potentially 6 different entities collecting income tax there.

That being said - fully agree - tax filing software should be free for everyone.

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

#112

Post by raverbashing »

progx wrote: post #7
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…

But only für employees! As an independent or small company owner you have todo it every year.

> But only für employees

You mean, most of the people then?

> As an independent or small company owner you have todo it every year.

Well, obviously

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

#113

Post by mbostleman »

I like finding approaches that don't necessarily "solve" a problem, but rather don't have the problem in the first place so that there's nothing to solve.

In this case, I would suggest dropping income tax altogether, decommissioning the IRS, and using the state infrastructure already in place to collect an equal amount of revenue from sales tax.

No filing. Broader tax base, including criminals and illegal activity. Everyone's checking account effectively becomes a 401k.

Sales tax is regressive, yes. But proposals like the FairTax suggest the idea of an annual "prebate" or credit up front in the form of a check that effectively eliminates taxes on spending up to poverty level income.

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

#114

Post by guerrilla »

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…

> but it's trivial now due to FIEC

What do you mean?

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

#115

Post by NikolaNovak »

rafale wrote: post #102
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.

Hmm, I would actually love (genuinely) to hear more. My impression is that standardized testing of Intelligence Quotient explains way way less than popular imagination & movies think.

Studies like these [1] [2] get a lot of newspaper time, but they're largely rebuked on methodological or overreach grouns, and honestly, there's sweeping generalizations and then there's saying "Anything from California is automatically bad due to low average IQ".

As well, the spread across ALL states is barely 10% [3]

edit: Though, by that logic, USA should start mimicking everything we canucks do! I look forward to you adopting our universal health care and bilingualism and Her Majesty The Queen! :-D [4]

1: http://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Psyc...

2: https://theconversation.com/do-smart-people-tend-to-be-more-...

3: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/average-iq-...

4: https://www.forbes.com/sites/duncanmadden/2019/01/11/ranked-...

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

#116

Post by nicoffeine »

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.

The nation is dependent on the money that California and NY put in to the federal tax system. You're welcome.

"A 2017 study by the Rockefeller Institute of Government found that traditional blue states like Connecticut ($15,643), Massachusetts ($13,582), New Jersey ($13,137), New York ($12,820), and California ($10,510), contributed significantly more in federal taxes, per citizen, than traditional red states like Mississippi ($5,740), West Virginia ($6,349), Kentucky ($6,626), and South Carolina ($6,665).

Not only do some states contribute more to the federal budget than others, but some also receive less from the federal government in return. On average, each of our 50 states receives about $1.14 from the federal government for every tax dollar they send to Washington.

This is why our federal government runs a deficit every year. The traditional red states mentioned above, however, receive more — much more. For example, Mississippi received $2.13 for every tax dollar it sends to Washington by way of federal taxes, West Virginia $2.07, Kentucky $1.90, and South Carolina $1.71.

For some large traditional blue states, California receives only 96 cents, Massachusetts 83 cents, Connecticut 82 cents, New York 81 cents, and New Jersey 74 cents for every tax dollar they sent to Washington. The discrepancy is significant."

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll/opinion/cc-op-...

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

#117

Post by dogleash »

s5300 wrote: post #75
golemotron wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Pretty sure California and New York are tired of paying billions of dollars to the Federal government that gets re-distributed to all of the failing Federal welfare states. If they're so tired, I'm sure they'd be happy to give back the billions of dollars they receive any time now. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/donor-state...

If you want to states to not get federal gov't funds, you're in agreement with the people who think the scope DC should be reduced and states to do more. So now that you're in agreement, get to enacting those changes.

On your other point, I'll just leave this here:

>“How come the white working class uses government programs while railing against handouts?” Because you are the government. They’ll take what they can, but they’ll be damned if they beg for it. “Why are all these hicks voting for authoritarianism?” Exercise some basic cognitive empathy, please. They’re not voting for authoritarianism. They’re voting for fuck you.

https://hotelconcierge.tumblr.com/post/159702160399/the-subp...

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

#118

Post by Frost1x »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #79
pwned1 wrote: post #52

I for one am fine with taxes being a pain in the ass. That forces people to see what they're paying. If you think they're a pain in the ass, advocate for simpler taxes.

> If you think they're a pain in the ass, advocate for simpler taxes. Intuit would lobby against that too.

Not if simplifying taxes was as easy as paying Intuit the $89/yr toll to not deal with taxes.

Intuit just wants money, they really don't care about taxes or complexity of the tax system. The only reason they care about complex tax code is that they can make money from it. These large businesses of today don't have visions or value creation goals, they have markets, competitors, and revenue streams. Everything else they do is tangential.

If Intuit could continue to make their money or make more money by advocating for simpler taxes they would. We should pass the Intuit Tax Toll bill where everyone is required by law to just throw money at Intuit every year until they go away, except they'll only come back for more... because this is what Intuit and a mountain of existing businesses would foam at the mouth for, a world where they were just handed money.

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

#119

Post by bartart »

s5300 wrote: post #75
golemotron wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Pretty sure California and New York are tired of paying billions of dollars to the Federal government that gets re-distributed to all of the failing Federal welfare states. If they're so tired, I'm sure they'd be happy to give back the billions of dollars they receive any time now. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/donor-state...

I think the picture is more complex than donor states and receiver states. As the article below argues, the Rockefeller study that the data comes from has flawed methodology.

New York for example benefits tremendously from its large financial industry that pays a lot in taxes. But arguably the industry is so concentrated in New York today because of federal laws that force the federal reserve to conduct its financial activities only in New York, among other hard coded advantages that the state has lobbied for. In addition, retirees who receive billions in benefits each year from the federal government commonly leave the state in favor of places like Florida, further distorting the picture. Unlike more fiscally prudent states, New York also has billions in tax exempt bonds outstanding that deprive the federal government of revenue but are not counted by the Rockefeller study.

https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/new-york-is-no-donor-state-...

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

#120

Post by nonfamous »

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…

This reads like a talking point, not a good-faith comment.
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