Maybe we should focus on fixing H1B first?
What's wrong with H-1B?
Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
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Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#12> but this issue has as close to a community consensus as HN gets
Curious how this is assessed of you could share?
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#13Other than it’s nice not to have your profession taxed, what is the argument that software development shouldn’t be taxed as opposed to all sorts of other white collar work?
It's not a matter of whether it's taxed. It's a matter of how the costs are expensed. If I invest a $1m in software development now, I'm not making any profit yet. I may not make a profit. It's a question over whether I need to pay taxes on potential future profit now.
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#14> but this issue has as close to a community consensus as HN gets Curious how this is assessed of you could share?
The number of threads and the comments in those threads.
e.g. from a few days ago:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44208063
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44208875
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44207240
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44205579
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44205479
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44204864
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44204808
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44188578
I realize listing a few examples doesn't prove anything, but when I've skim these threads, I see lots of comments like that and few counterarguments. Hence my impression.
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#15What is a software dev expense and why should it be tax deductible?
Because employee salaries are normally deductible as an expense for companies which generally pay taxes on something resembling profit rather than something resembling revenue. The issue is they are classifying software development as a research activity so the salary has to be amortized over five years with 20% of the expense applying in each of the five years.
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#16The top of the form says "[Letter text -- Please sign by June 4!]" -- is it still helpful to sign?
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#17I’m all for reverting that part of the tax code, but only on the condition that it’s inapplicable to H-1B visa or foreign worker salaries/payments, provided that employer pays local taxes in those countries for those roles. Keep good paying jobs in the USA. If we need immigrant labor, give them Green Cards instead of precarity.
The whole point is leverage/precarity.
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#18Other than it’s nice not to have your profession taxed, what is the argument that software development shouldn’t be taxed as opposed to all sorts of other white collar work?
The UK has (had) a tax credit for "Research and Development", intended to be a tax break for genuine R&D, but of course everyone lumped all software development into.
The UK eventually put out guidance that business as usual development isn't really "research and development", but afaik there hasn't been a serious crackdown on the practice.
It seems kind of absurd to pretend that most work that developers do is pioneering the profession.
R&D tax breaks make sense, both to encourage genuine research but also to prevent brain-drain.
Not taxing (or tax credits / refunds ) for line-of-business software isn't really excusable.
It's bad that the law in the US has been changed in a cliff-edge way though.
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#19Interesting that YC is jumping on this tax code thing, but the shitty tax situation for employees trying to hold onto the equity they've earned is just ignored.
The number one problem for startup employees is that the AMT tax makes it impossible to exercise options in a company that is doing well. YC is showing us that they will fight for changes to the tax code when it benefits their bottom line directly, but are silent when it comes to helping startup employees hold onto equity that they have earned.
Think carefully before joining a YC startup as an employee.
Re: Tell HN: Help restore the tax deduction for software dev in the US (Section 174)
#20Other than it’s nice not to have your profession taxed, what is the argument that software development shouldn’t be taxed as opposed to all sorts of other white collar work?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44204565
Software is being singled out