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

latimes.com

201–210 of 304 posts

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

#201
post #154
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Right, most people are employees though. Germany has another problem though - getting a Steuerberater (tax advisor) to help you with the paperwork as a business owner is next to impossible.

> getting a Steuerberater (tax advisor) to help you with the paperwork as a business owner is next to impossible.

Is it really? Are you talking about an advisor for employees or for self-employed people/companies?

I was searching for a tax advisor two years ago and it took me exactly one attempt to get one. My parents got an appointment within a month as well. Also, unless there are very specific circumstances there is little to no reason for an employee to get an advisor. Most of my friends just use the ELSTER form provided by the Finanzamt or use tax software the purchased which makes it slightly less painful.

But I have no clue about how hard it is for companies

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

#202
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I recommend hiring an accountant. For as low as 50€/month I don’t have to worry about filling taxes (I’m programmer on a contract)

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

#203
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 Mi…

I mean red states are more rural which alone would account for more subsidies. But regardless, seems like you’re all for redistribution of wealth unless it goes to the political “undesirable”? You just made a great argument against redistribution - it’s too fraught with politics.

> I mean red states are more rural which alone would account for more subsidies.

Yeah, duh, that's their point.

We are strong as a country because our wealthy, dense state economies support our poorer, rural state economies; and that's why it's laughable when red-state citizens and politians rant about seceding from the "evil communist blue states."

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

#204
post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so important and I think a lot of people miss it. The "left" that has power in the US (establishment dems) barely qualify as being left at all. They are very much invested in protecting power and wealth. The only "left" that would push against the rentiers are people who will almost never see power. However, I wouldnt say AOC winning is a "fluke". Its definitely the exception, but progressives have been able…

> The "left" that has power in the US (establishment dems) barely qualify as being left at all So when the left does something you dont like, they must not be left? Smells of no true scottsman to me.

What do you call it when party A and party B were strongly in favor of the Iraq war and the opposition (C) comes solely from protestors who have no political representation?

A is "the left" to most people.

B is the right.

C is (apparently) a logical fallacy represented by 3 congresspeople and a senator.

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

#205

California tried to save the country from gasoline cars, then Ford and Chrysler stepped in and ended up bankrupting General Motors. This is a common theme with big businesses. Instead of complying with "make people's life easier" initiatives they just pay off the politicians.

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

Or maybe you are wrong and California's "draconian politics" are being effective and corporations are scared of that.

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

#206
post #198
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Intuit is lobbying in defense of their entire industry. Almost every company of their size would do the same thing in their situation. The people who deserve the blame here are the people who are susceptible to those lobbying efforts. Blame Congress.

I blame the rules that let this happen. In general, people are gonna people.

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

#207
post #101

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) o…

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

#209
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They know that already and calculate it. Why waste people's time with this stuff then?

Real talk though, how are they going to know that you bought an energy efficient AC unit for your house that you can deduct off your taxes?

Tax code reform aimed at simplification would just get rid of that, and incentivize the behavior of your example via e.g. DoE grants to manufacturers to allow lower prices on more energy efficient units. The problem is that everybody has their own pet deductions (and a good number of them have armies of lobbyists backing them up), so a real attempt to clean the slate would require a degree of political cohesion that congress can only dream of.

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

#210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. I should restate... I'm not mad at low-level IRS employees. Rather the ones nominated and approved by Congress, who ultimately make these decisions.

It is Converse that makes these decisions, no? The IRS just does what it is told.

yes, in some regards, no in others.
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