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IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

nytimes.com

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Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#21

Post by jacobyoder »

GreedClarifies wrote: post #16
wolfgang42 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In one possible scenario included in the agency’s report to Congress, the I.R.S. could fill out tax returns with information it already has, like data from W-2 wage statements. For the pilot, however, participants will have to enter their own financial information, the I.R.S. said.

So in its initial form it is indeed a complete waste of tax payers money. Shocking.

Absolutist takes like this never achieve much.

Yes, it could be better. But an mvp-type launch that does some things well, without trying to achieve everything on day one, would definitely not be a "complete waste". If successful, it's laying the base for the next iterations of functionality.

For a lot of folks, they have one or two W2 forms to enter, and that's it. It's really not that hard. If even a million or so folks get benefit from it to start with, that's great, and we should then build on that.

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#22

Post by jlarocco »

crazydoggers wrote: post #13
k2enemy wrote: post #3

> A spokeswoman for Intuit, Tania Mercado, criticized the direct file project as a “half-baked solution” and a waste of taxpayer money. “The direct file scheme is a solution in search of a problem,” she said. Wow, I thought that Intuit would have gone for a little more subtlety.

This is why we still have the income tax system that we do. It’s a $14 billion a year industry. I’ve talked to people who work the lobbying system very hard. There’s lots of wining and dining to make sure no one messes with the complexity of the system. We need more people who are immune to lobbying in government positions. We’ll see how this goes.. depending on the next election cycle this will either get quashed qu…

> We need more people who are immune to lobbying in government positions.

What we need to do is stop pretending people like that exist, and come up with a system that works despite people's self-interest, greed and corruption.

Maybe what we have is the best we can do.

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#23

Post by jacobyoder »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #20
nerdponx wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only will they, but Trump's Secretary of Treasury will order the IRS to cancel the program as soon as he's elected.

Why? Trump is a populist. "Get your taxes done with me for free instead of HR Block charging you a couple hundreds" is a low-hanging fruit.

> Get your taxes done with me for free instead of HR Block charging you a couple hundreds"

He had 4 years to do that and it never even came up. To the degree that he's an opportunist, and doesn't hold stock in Intuit, he might support it (or at least not oppose it).

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#25

Post by calamari4065 »

crazydoggers wrote: post #13
k2enemy wrote: post #3

> A spokeswoman for Intuit, Tania Mercado, criticized the direct file project as a “half-baked solution” and a waste of taxpayer money. “The direct file scheme is a solution in search of a problem,” she said. Wow, I thought that Intuit would have gone for a little more subtlety.

This is why we still have the income tax system that we do. It’s a $14 billion a year industry. I’ve talked to people who work the lobbying system very hard. There’s lots of wining and dining to make sure no one messes with the complexity of the system. We need more people who are immune to lobbying in government positions. We’ll see how this goes.. depending on the next election cycle this will either get quashed qu…

Maybe spending billions of dollars lobbying should be illegal

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#26

Post by SMAAART »

k2enemy wrote: post #3

> A spokeswoman for Intuit, Tania Mercado, criticized the direct file project as a “half-baked solution” and a waste of taxpayer money. “The direct file scheme is a solution in search of a problem,” she said. Wow, I thought that Intuit would have gone for a little more subtlety.

So it's an endorsement from Intuit.

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#27

Post by mdtusz »

asia92 wrote: post #11
gigel82 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean like they do in ... every other country on earth?

Not canada

I had high hopes that SimpleTax would have been bought by the CRA, but sadly now it's been absorbed by Wealthsimple instead.

Still worth using though and is pretty straightforward and easy to use.

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#28

Post by calamari4065 »

GreedClarifies wrote: post #16
wolfgang42 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In one possible scenario included in the agency’s report to Congress, the I.R.S. could fill out tax returns with information it already has, like data from W-2 wage statements. For the pilot, however, participants will have to enter their own financial information, the I.R.S. said.

So in its initial form it is indeed a complete waste of tax payers money. Shocking.

"It isn't completely and totally perfect from the very first moment so it's a complete waste of time and money"

How does it feel to be the smartest person on the planet?

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#29

Post by bee_rider »

jlarocco wrote: post #22
crazydoggers wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why we still have the income tax system that we do. It’s a $14 billion a year industry. I’ve talked to people who work the lobbying system very hard. There’s lots of wining and dining to make sure no one messes with the complexity of the system. We need more people who are immune to lobbying in government positions. We’ll see how this goes.. depending on the next election cycle this will either get quashed qu…

> We need more people who are immune to lobbying in government positions. What we need to do is stop pretending people like that exist, and come up with a system that works despite people's self-interest, greed and corruption. Maybe what we have is the best we can do.

More transparency would probably be better. Make them wear NASCAR style jackets and all that.

Re: IRS to begin trial of its own free tax-filing system

#30

Post by jacobyoder »

k2enemy wrote: post #3

> A spokeswoman for Intuit, Tania Mercado, criticized the direct file project as a “half-baked solution” and a waste of taxpayer money. “The direct file scheme is a solution in search of a problem,” she said. Wow, I thought that Intuit would have gone for a little more subtlety.

...and Intuit knows a thing or two about "half-baked solutions". ;)
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