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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

#471

Post by latchkey »

smeagull wrote: post #449

In my country I don't need to do anything. They calculate the tax, and if I owe anything extra, or am owed a return, I get mail about it. But there are downsides too, we also have free healthcare and the last school shooting was more than 80 years ago.

I know in Vietnam, they kind of do this too. Employers pay employee tax directly from the paychecks and it is based on salary. So a lot of the companies report that their employees make less, or they pay the employee part of their salary in cash (if it a cash business).

I'm curious how you know they aren't cheating you somehow? Also, how could their numbers be off (high/low)? In the US, there are all sorts of 'deductions' you can take and potential areas where you may owe more, which is why you can't just rely on the IRS to do it for you... they wouldn't know the data.

> But there are downsides too, we also have free healthcare and the last school shooting was more than 80 years ago.

sigh...

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

#472

Post by cdelsolar »

amelius wrote: post #439
opzz wrote: post #425

They should open source this. I would actually contribute to making this usable.

Makes you wonder why there wasn't an open source tool for this to begin with. Why did nobody feel the urge to make this?

I've felt the urge to make it for a long time, but there are other things I was more passionate about. I did actually start looking into it this past tax cycle mostly out of anger/spite at Intuit, but I'm glad the govt is doing something now. I think it should be open source.

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

#474

Post by gathersnow »

DubiousPusher wrote: post #464
jcadam wrote: post #428

On the upside, if the tax-preparation industry is destroyed or severely diminished, it would make it easier to reform/simplify the tax code at a later date should a future government be so inclined. On the downside... no way would I use a tax preparation system provided by the IRS. It's bound to be a UX nightmare, like all government software, there's an obvious conflict of interest (the IRS has no reason to help fin…

How recently have you used a government website? Most of them are pretty good. They often don't look great but they're usually highly functional. And the ones that do get modernized are actually usually quite good.

This is what I have been thinking recently. In my recent interactions with the IRS site I was impressed. In particular was the weird photo-identity app that I had to use to generate a PIN.

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

#475

Post by sithlord »

jcadam wrote: post #444
eh9 wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would. They already know how much I need to pay them/how much they owe me. It should be as simple as a text message I reply “y/n” to.

> They already know how much I need to pay them/how much they owe me. This is not true in regards to the US Tax code. There's a reason the tax preparation industry is so large in this country.

they know for probably 75% of the country, imo what should happen:

they send a bill of the expected amount, and you do your taxes on your end (if you so choose) to make sure its correct. If wrong, you submit your taxes, and move on with life.

for the vast majority of people, you have a w2 or some other accounts that submit stuff to the IRS, and these same people mostly take standard deductions, its a simple computation.

The US likely wont do this, because they potentially miss out on income that honest peopel will report, when it hasn't been reported to them (for example cash tips / gambling winnings under W2G and things like that.

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

#477

Post by karlshea »

jcadam wrote: post #444
eh9 wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would. They already know how much I need to pay them/how much they owe me. It should be as simple as a text message I reply “y/n” to.

> They already know how much I need to pay them/how much they owe me. This is not true in regards to the US Tax code. There's a reason the tax preparation industry is so large in this country.

A huge percent of filers have one or two W2s and no house, and that statement is true for them.

The giant tax prep industry can still be there for everyone else.

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

#478

Post by BigCryo »

jcadam wrote: post #428

On the upside, if the tax-preparation industry is destroyed or severely diminished, it would make it easier to reform/simplify the tax code at a later date should a future government be so inclined. On the downside... no way would I use a tax preparation system provided by the IRS. It's bound to be a UX nightmare, like all government software, there's an obvious conflict of interest (the IRS has no reason to help fin…

Looks like the tax return industry Shills have downvoted you.. corporate Shills are all over the Internet they control everything

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

#479

Post by bcraven »

The (fantastic) Reply All podcast episode #144, "Dark Pattern" covers tax returns.[0] In summary, the US government made a deal with private industry that as long as that industry offered a free tier of tax returns, the government would never create its own tax filing system.

I wonder what has changed!

[0]https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/6nhgol

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

#480

Post by digging »

RajT88 wrote: post #445
rocketbop wrote: post #424

> A direct-to-IRS e-file system is wholly redundant and is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem," said Rick Heineman, a spokesman for Intuit, the company behind TurboTax. "That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans." Extraordinary that he could say that sentence with what I assume was a straight face.

On some counts, he is not wrong. It will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Those billions of dollars will be well spent, and may be a net 0 cost for taxpayers after the savings on eFiling. This is a revocation of the license to print money by the tax prep industry.

I am always intensely skeptical of the phrase "cost the taxpayers" when presented as a pure loss. It is almost always the opposite. It's like saying "Exercise costs a person energy and nutrients." Well, no shit, but you get more value out of it than you input in the form of burned calories and muscle strain.
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