111–120 of 181 posts
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> Sounds like a good deal if the company is too big to fail. I don't know why Equifax is too big to fail. But then again, I don't know why Goldman Sachs was too big to fail either.
Because they're our de facto fascist rulers. America is a republic only on paper.
Damn those anti-chippers!
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All things being equal, the US government is simultaneously (1) the single most legitimate non-medical third party that needs to access my personal data, and (2) the single best entity to hold my data in terms of personal recourse . That's not saying much, but it is better than the open scorn and disrespect for my privacy that corporations offer. The solution to government breaches is what it's always been: to make t…
Good point, gov has less reason to sell your data
Do people need to care about this if they're filing online with a firm like H&R Block?
No. But do note that H&R Block (along with Intuit and others) pay lobbyists to make filing your taxes a difficult costly process. I'd recommend using https://freetaxusa.com (legit, great site for only $15) or paying a local, independent CPA, to file your taxes instead. https://www.propublica.org/article/filing-taxes-could-be-fre...
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If the IRS (or Sen. Wyden) is looking for a "core government service" which has been inappropriately commercialized, they might start with tax preparation.
lol, the arrogance to call out someone for something they actual are a champion in fighting.
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> I think we've fairly well established that the complexity of the code isn't the problem. The IRS knows what you owe and could just tell you if they wanted to. The IRS has no way to know which of your expenditures are tax-deductible.
If you think you can do better than the standard deductions, you’re more than welcome to itemize — just like today. Pretending that the current system is as good as it can get the for the vast majority of individuals is disingenuous. Just look at every other country that sends out prefilled forms.
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lol, the arrogance to call out someone for something they actual are a champion in fighting.
It was carelessness. I know Sen. Wyden has been good on this issue and other issues of digital governance. My comment came originally out of the frustrating irony that id.me was getting heat for commercializing what should be a government service when Intuit's behavior is so much more galling. I originally posted my comment attributing the quote to the IRS, then corrected the attribution to Sen. Wyden without thinkin…
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This is a really good point - if the tax code were a few dozen pages for the common case instead of a few hundred , then you might not even need tax-prep software in the first place. "The best program is the one that doesn't exist", to quote a popular refrain. Ongoing software projects require periodic refactoring to reduce complexity and increase comprehension - why would the law be any different?
> if the tax code were a few dozen pages for the common case instead of a few hundred Isn't this the fantasy of clean sheet software? 'We'll get rid of all this cruft and make it clean and simple.' But it turns out that the cruft is needed to deal with reality, which is messy rather than the abstract clean-room requirements of our imaginations. I can't see how the tax code can be short, having to deal with such a wid…
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HN has a lot of "both sides are the same" centrists and libertarians. They don't realize there there is still a tiny thread of pro-worker pro-middle-class democratic action in the US government. I have no idea how much longer it can survive, but people like Wyden, AOC, Bernie, etc fight the good fight and that goes against everything centrists and 3rd party types believe. Everyone is a republican to them and when sho…
You pick AOC and Bernie as examples of people fighting for the middle class. AOC's Green New Deal would've destroyed the middle class. She probably means well, but she really is just a useful idiot.
The “New Deal” saved the middle class. A “green” new deal could do it again.
We have an incredible need and opportunity to (re)build infrastructure in this country. That’s where the middle class can thrive.
The green new deal was an olive branch as much as anything. An opportunity for everyone to make a needed contribution and be compensated for it.
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If you think you can do better than the standard deductions, you’re more than welcome to itemize — just like today. Pretending that the current system is as good as it can get the for the vast majority of individuals is disingenuous. Just look at every other country that sends out prefilled forms.
If you're taking the standard deduction, preparing your taxes is already the simple affair everyone says it should be.
A whole lot of preparing a tax return is plugging in numbers from forms that are sent to you and the IRS. It would be simpler (but perhaps less timely) if the IRS sent the taxpayer the return and if you disagreed, you could send in an ammended form with any documentation, or just pay the bill/cash the check.