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How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

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Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#191

Post by [deleted] »

nmcfarl wrote: post #155
ajross wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one pays penalties for simple mistakes. That's what FOX news tells you, but it's not true. We've made five-figure goofs on taxes in the past and a simple letter explaining the mistake (assuming it's an explainable mistake and you didn't get caught in actual attempted fraud) is enough to get the penalty waved.

Interestingly - my experience, on innocent mistakes, has been varied. I got hammered owing 6 or 8 hundred dollars for a $200 mistake when I was 10 years old and making money off of my paper route. (No, my parents didn't cover the bill nor do my taxes.) And I made $10,000 mistake five years ago and they said "Oh - whoops, pay your bill and be more careful next time" and then called it a day.

[deleted]

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#192

Post by asveikau »

justin66 wrote: post #183
tjic wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's what FOX news tells you Downvoted for egregious politicking. Let's skip the drive-by attacks on FOX and MSNBC, dailykos and drudgereport ... unless they're relevant.

I can see where you're coming from but given some of the content of the original story it's not entirely irrelevant. I actually do wonder a little what Grover Norquist's deal is here. I understand his politics (sort of) but I assume receiving a statement laying out the calculations the government is going to use against you could only be an advantage when strategizing how to reduce one's tax bill. That he'd be agains…

What I've seen listening to Grover Norquist is that you can't take his positions at face value. Example: Before the 2012 election he said they'd primary Republicans who broke the pledge. After the election he started supporting compromises. I don't think you can rely on a straightforward statement of these people's principles.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#194

Post by guelo »

justin66 wrote: post #183
tjic wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's what FOX news tells you Downvoted for egregious politicking. Let's skip the drive-by attacks on FOX and MSNBC, dailykos and drudgereport ... unless they're relevant.

I can see where you're coming from but given some of the content of the original story it's not entirely irrelevant. I actually do wonder a little what Grover Norquist's deal is here. I understand his politics (sort of) but I assume receiving a statement laying out the calculations the government is going to use against you could only be an advantage when strategizing how to reduce one's tax bill. That he'd be agains…

He wants to continue using the stories about how awful it is to fill out tax forms in his crusade against the government.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#195

Post by tempaccount9473 »

ScottWhigham wrote: post #40

To those saying "We should be more like Sweden/Finland!", I'd ask whether those countries have a tax system that is also based on using tax credits and deductions to lower your tax due? I don't know the tax codes in those countries but my guess is that, because they use the tax entity-created system, they do not have such a complicated tax code as the US. In the US, you have two sides of this: (1) the IRS, and (2) CP…

> If the IRS helps you save $5000 [via a tax deduction] that you would have otherwise paid, then the IRS loses $5000

Many Americans have a (one-sided) adversarial relationship with the IRS, thinking it is some kind of evil entity that only exists to financially destroy everyone in America.

But the IRS only exists to implement the tax code enacted by the "representatives of the people" (ha), the US Congress. When the IRS saves someone $5,000 because of a deduction that Congress specifically created as a tax expenditure, the IRS doesn't "lose" $5,000, they are simply performing the function that they are required by law to do.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#196

Post by guelo »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #45
theorique wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

some government programs have excellent customer service as compared to some corporate equivalents I am sure we could find counterexamples here.

Ever been to the DMV?

I'd say DMV's customer service is better than Comcasts's or Verizon's.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#197

Post by sc68cal »

danso wrote: post #137

The fact that a tax-hater such as Grover Norquist opposes reforming the tax-filing procedures illustrates the complex dichotomy between giving government good responsibility without giving it dictatorship-like responsibility. In Norquist's opinion, making taxes too easy to file will make citzenry too complacent about how they're being nickel-and-dimed and will lull them into not pursuing reform. OK, fair enough. But…

>But what about a scenario in which for 30-50 million Americans file for their taxes by sending a SMS (as it's apparently done in Scandinavian countries)? And all the other taxpayers, they're wondering: "Why the f-ck can't my taxes be that easy??"

That's why Grover Norquist and others are lobbying against this. If taxes weren't a hassle, their movements would lose an important emotional touchstone that fuels many people's aggravation against the government. Being able to tap into that frustration, in order to enrich themselves and their political donor class is very effective.

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#199

Post by scdoshi »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #118

Couple of notes. 1) The IRS itself gets most of the tax advice wrong that it gives out to taxpayers 2) Paying taxes is one of the few transactional relationships you have with your government. If you ask me, a government representative should come to your office and you should pay him in cash, not hide and automate taxes so that they disappear. 3) There is a difference between a simple tax system and a tax system tha…

"4) Think for a minute what this implies: that a government agency that is responsible for collecting money should also be the sole source for computing how much money is owed."

Did you even read the article? All they are saying is the IRS could "pre-fill" your forms. If you don't agree, you can change the values, or get a CPA and do the whole thing completely independently. Where did you get the 'govt would be the sole source' argument?

Baseless fear-mongering like this doesn't do any good for any one (except Intuit maybe)

Re: How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

#200

Post by justin66 »

asveikau wrote: post #192
justin66 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see where you're coming from but given some of the content of the original story it's not entirely irrelevant. I actually do wonder a little what Grover Norquist's deal is here. I understand his politics (sort of) but I assume receiving a statement laying out the calculations the government is going to use against you could only be an advantage when strategizing how to reduce one's tax bill. That he'd be agains…

What I've seen listening to Grover Norquist is that you can't take his positions at face value. Example: Before the 2012 election he said they'd primary Republicans who broke the pledge. After the election he started supporting compromises. I don't think you can rely on a straightforward statement of these people's principles.

Well, I couldn't really make a straightforward evaluation of Norquist's principles even if I were ready to extend that kind of trust to him. The guy is on the record as believing that the government's imposition of income taxes is equivalent to the Holocaust.

With him, it's always a question of whether he's crazy in the obvious way or in a more subtle way.

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