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IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

washingtonpost.com

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Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#151

Post by wefarrell »

alfalfasprout wrote: post #83

The software is nice and all... but the real problem is that the tax code is just way too complex. If you have properties, RSU income, other investment income, W2 income, and have to deal with multiple states you can have three different CPAs come up with three different numbers. At the end of the day, if you're a billionaire earned income is a teeny tiny part of your earnings and most of it is kept unrealized for ta…

The lower hanging fruit is to fix the filing method.

The government has all of the data available to them, they should be able to send you a pre filled tax return that you can amend for whatever reason. In 98% of situations their numbers won't need changing and filing can be a 30 second process. I believe that's how it works in most other countries.

Of course there are powerful lobbies who want the tax process to be painful and that's why it doesn't work like that currently.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#152

Post by no-reply »

gowld wrote: post #87
ShadowBanThis01 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. This is why a free press exists. Too bad fewer and fewer people appreciate it.

It doesn't need your appreciation so much as your donation. But you could donate appreciated stocks.

[flagged]

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#153

Post by Taywee »

tivert wrote: post #112
cstoner wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The vast majority of people take the standard deduction, so offering a "here's what we think you owe, but if you disagree feel free to do the full return" form would be a huge efficiency gain. Your comment seems like a prime case of perfect being the enemy of good.

> The vast majority of people take the standard deduction, so offering a "here's what we think you owe, but if you disagree feel free to do the full return" form would be a huge efficiency gain. > Your comment seems like a prime case of perfect being the enemy of good. And the comments advocating for automatic tax filing seem to be ignoring Chesterton's fence. They seem to be viewing it solely through the lens of rev…

People care about what they're paying in taxes whether they're manually punching in the numbers or not. For most people, you just put the numbers in the right places when filing taxes, and don't consider the policy implications or causes at that moment, because it makes no difference at that point. You consider those effects when voting.

Removing manual filing won't stop people from voting on tax policy.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#154

Post by koolba »

uticus wrote: post #79
gamblor956 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then there's the disgusting shell game that IS the entire U.S. tax system, which is the root of the whole problem. Everyone thinks that they can come up with a much better tax system, and they always start with something super simple that meets their tax needs. But a simple system that meets one person's tax needs is usually not so simple, fair, or efficient for other people . And when you take all their needs in…

> For example, try designing a tax system that is both fair and efficient with respect to agricultural income and tech income... It won't be simple. I love these armchair opportunities for college-level challenges without the admission fees, I'll bite. Step 1: disallow corporation as a legal taxable entity, private ownership only. Step 2: Subtract expenses from income. Step 3: Divide by 10. Step 4: If more than zero,…

So you’ve eliminated the entire concept of depreciation? That’d make it effectively impossible to plan or operate any business with front loaded costs.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#155

Post by thelittleone »

d--b wrote: post #98
RajT88 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In fact, other sane industrialized nations have really got it figured out: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dreading-taxes-countries-s...

Not all though. I developed admin-phobia since I moved back to France. Being a contractor here is such a FUCKING nightmare compared to UK and US. Sure the US could do without turbotax. BUT AT LEAST YOU GUYS HAVE TURBOTAX

You could establish a corporation in a UAE freezone with visa and not even need to keep books. Of course assuming your laws allow it.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#156

Post by iends »

mikestew wrote: post #140
RandallBrown wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would you know if you're going to take the standard deduction without doing your taxes? I'm fairly certain the federal government doesn't know about all my deductions.

How would you know if you're going to take the standard deduction without doing your taxes? People wealthy enough to even think that their deductions might exceed the standard deduction are not only in the vast minority, they're also wealthy enough that paying for TurboTax isn't an issue because they have their accountant do the taxes. IOW, you're optimizing for the exception, not the majority case.

Two DINKs who live in HCOL areas and donate 10% of their income to charity should be thinking about itemizing, though. We’re talking 250k in salary or so, right?

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#157

Post by nostromo »

vkou wrote: post #142
ethbr0 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only thing worse than a private monopoly is a public one.

The only thing worse than a public monopoly is where you have to navigate both a public monopoly, and a private monopoly, which is how taxes work in the US.

There is no monopoly on tax preparation in the US. It’s a highly competitive market.

Dozens of companies sell online products to file, and thousands of individual providers are available too.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#158

Post by koolba »

petsfed wrote: post #78
pstuart wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out Grover Norquist and his goals -- this tax hell is intentional.

This sounds kind of like a conspiracy-theory, so it's worth providing a source. Norquist himself, and his organization Americans for Tax Reform, believe that making tax payers go through the process of preparing their tax return forces us to audit our comfortability with paying taxes[0],[1]. If, on the other hand, we just signed off on numbers that the IRS provided us every April, we'd be less aware of, and therefore…

> But I already feel that when I look at my paystub, or pay property taxes.

Unless you’re cutting a check in person you’re arguably not feeling it as much as you should.

It’s like how replacing cash toll booths with electronic debit hides the true price you’re paying on the highway.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#159

Post by artursapek »

lesuorac wrote: post #150
kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is no reason for a w2 wage earner taking the standard deduction to need to file taxes. Unreported gambling winnings or a low revenue side gig aren't tracked by the IRS.

Yes, a non-w2 wage earner has income that is not tracked by a w2 ... The general issue with gambling wins is not that the IRS doesn't know (casinos report winnings) its that they don't have to report losses.

What? Casinos don't report all winnings. Anyone can get chips for cash, and cash for chips.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#160

Post by cpuguy83 »

tivert wrote: post #100
lotsofpulp wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

90% of federal tax filers in the US do not itemize, which includes the majority of home owners.

> 90% of federal tax filers in the US do not itemize, which includes the majority of home owners. Isn't that a relatively recent thing? IIRC, the standard deduction was massively increased a few years ago.

I owned a house from 2012-2018. Still wound up with the standard deduction every year.
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