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Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

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Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#11

Post by john567 »

nonamenoslogan wrote: post #9

My wife and I file pretty standard forms every year--no complicated deductions, only 2-3 W2s, maybe a couple 1099s and a 1098-E. For the first few years of our marriage, I did taxes by hand as a point of pride and enjoyed it (yeah, I know--most say yuck). Around 2006ish, I got a copy of TurboTax in a bundle with my first MacBook Pro and I've never looked back. It's absolutely worth it to me for $40 to me for the ease…

How the fuck can there be a fee for "e-file" it should be the opposite if anything.

I live in Sweden. Yeah, that country. Not only do we have a bank issued digital identity our revenue service has a online system for doing your taxes and it takes less than 10 minutes.

If you buy/sell stocks using ISK and have a mortgage all of that is manage for you. You just review the numbers and sign of on it (using your digital identity). Then you get your returns.

The US tax system is perplexing to me.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#12

Post by potamic »

What thoughts on doing away with income tax altogether? There is already tax on sales. No reason to have tax on source as well. Tiered tax rates based on how much you're buying or how many things you're buying can allow taxing less from the poor. The government should easily be able to structure it so that their net revenue is more or less same. Imagine the amount of overhead and inefficiencies that can be eliminated altogether.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#13

Post by Gortal278 »

john567 wrote: post #11
nonamenoslogan wrote: post #9

My wife and I file pretty standard forms every year--no complicated deductions, only 2-3 W2s, maybe a couple 1099s and a 1098-E. For the first few years of our marriage, I did taxes by hand as a point of pride and enjoyed it (yeah, I know--most say yuck). Around 2006ish, I got a copy of TurboTax in a bundle with my first MacBook Pro and I've never looked back. It's absolutely worth it to me for $40 to me for the ease…

How the fuck can there be a fee for "e-file" it should be the opposite if anything. I live in Sweden. Yeah, that country. Not only do we have a bank issued digital identity our revenue service has a online system for doing your taxes and it takes less than 10 minutes. If you buy/sell stocks using ISK and have a mortgage all of that is manage for you. You just review the numbers and sign of on it (using your digital i…

Each state has is own tax requirements, the federal government has it's own tax requirements, some cities (NYC, Detroit etc) have they own tax requirements. You have the ability to specify how much tax you wish to be with held by your employer if you are employed. You need to file taxes quarterly if you are self employed.

It's complicated because the variation of tax paying. It becomes bottom up rather than top down.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#14

Post by Gortal278 »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #10
nonamenoslogan wrote: post #9

My wife and I file pretty standard forms every year--no complicated deductions, only 2-3 W2s, maybe a couple 1099s and a 1098-E. For the first few years of our marriage, I did taxes by hand as a point of pride and enjoyed it (yeah, I know--most say yuck). Around 2006ish, I got a copy of TurboTax in a bundle with my first MacBook Pro and I've never looked back. It's absolutely worth it to me for $40 to me for the ease…

Except you're paying $40 to a company that prevents you from having what every other modern western country has: $0, and the government did it for you. They stole your $40 every year and used it to lobby Congress.

You can do your taxes for free, it's just a total pita because the tax code is complicated.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#15

Post by selfportrait »

nonamenoslogan wrote: post #9

My wife and I file pretty standard forms every year--no complicated deductions, only 2-3 W2s, maybe a couple 1099s and a 1098-E. For the first few years of our marriage, I did taxes by hand as a point of pride and enjoyed it (yeah, I know--most say yuck). Around 2006ish, I got a copy of TurboTax in a bundle with my first MacBook Pro and I've never looked back. It's absolutely worth it to me for $40 to me for the ease…

> why not count the $40 out of it to be sure your returns were done right?

Do you realize how absurd it is to justify having to pay a fee… just to give the government our money? It’s a weird argument to make especially when normalizing the whole TurboTax angle, a company that is not only the result of but a perpetuator of our broken system. Lobby to keep our system broken and inefficient to rake in money from taxpayers.

Not only should the process be free — no exceptions — but it should be painless too. And we have not checked either one of those boxes. And people will continue supporting TurboTax to inject their $40 right into the company’s lobbying budget.

It shocks me sometimes how little imagination for innovation some people have, especially as it relates to the government and the ways our institutions are ran. This is not the norm in many other countries around the world and neither should it be.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#16

Post by rufus_foreman »

How would the IRS know?

Are they keeping track of whether I got married or divorced, or had a kid, or a death in the family, or a disability? Of whether I bought or sold a house, took out a HELOC, or started a home office, or installed solar panels?

Are they keeping track of whether I sold something for $5 on eBay, or of how much my sales tax was for groceries, even when I pay in cash? Do they have a file keeping track of my charitable contributions? If I'm a teacher who uses their own money to pay for classroom supplies, the IRS already knows this? They know whether the kids are at day care when I'm working? They know how much I spent on medical costs during the year? Whether I took a college class?

To the extent the IRS knows, I would consider that a bad thing.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#17

Post by nonamenoslogan »

selfportrait wrote: post #15
nonamenoslogan wrote: post #9

My wife and I file pretty standard forms every year--no complicated deductions, only 2-3 W2s, maybe a couple 1099s and a 1098-E. For the first few years of our marriage, I did taxes by hand as a point of pride and enjoyed it (yeah, I know--most say yuck). Around 2006ish, I got a copy of TurboTax in a bundle with my first MacBook Pro and I've never looked back. It's absolutely worth it to me for $40 to me for the ease…

> why not count the $40 out of it to be sure your returns were done right? Do you realize how absurd it is to justify having to pay a fee… just to give the government our money? It’s a weird argument to make especially when normalizing the whole TurboTax angle, a company that is not only the result of but a perpetuator of our broken system. Lobby to keep our system broken and inefficient to rake in money from taxpaye…

Hey, you’re free to file freely via mail all you want—I get Intuit is a problem, but I choose $40 as an easy way to double check my work and that’s it. Its the US, freedom above sense sometimes, whatever.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#18

Post by nonamenoslogan »

DiabloD3 wrote: post #10
nonamenoslogan wrote: post #9

My wife and I file pretty standard forms every year--no complicated deductions, only 2-3 W2s, maybe a couple 1099s and a 1098-E. For the first few years of our marriage, I did taxes by hand as a point of pride and enjoyed it (yeah, I know--most say yuck). Around 2006ish, I got a copy of TurboTax in a bundle with my first MacBook Pro and I've never looked back. It's absolutely worth it to me for $40 to me for the ease…

Except you're paying $40 to a company that prevents you from having what every other modern western country has: $0, and the government did it for you. They stole your $40 every year and used it to lobby Congress.

We have a TON of this kind of catch-22 in the US. Capitalism and all; you can choose the free complicated way or the not-free easy way. You’re still free to complain about either. If I had my way, we’d do a progressive flat-tax; going as high as 75% for anyone making more than 1 million a year with NO returns or deductions whatsoever—-I’m sure you’d happily call me a socialist dunce if I proposed that though.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#19

Post by selfportrait »

nonamenoslogan wrote: post #17
selfportrait wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why not count the $40 out of it to be sure your returns were done right? Do you realize how absurd it is to justify having to pay a fee… just to give the government our money? It’s a weird argument to make especially when normalizing the whole TurboTax angle, a company that is not only the result of but a perpetuator of our broken system. Lobby to keep our system broken and inefficient to rake in money from taxpaye…

Hey, you’re free to file freely via mail all you want—I get Intuit is a problem, but I choose $40 as an easy way to double check my work and that’s it. Its the US, freedom above sense sometimes, whatever.

The most American response ever. “I know it’s insane and stupid but at least freedom.” I would sit here and explain how what you’re describing is only an illusion of freedom but I feel I’ll continue this cascade of ignorance.

Re: Why do Americans have to pay much to file their tax returns when the IRS knows?

#20

Post by lp0_on_fire »

nonamenoslogan wrote: post #18
DiabloD3 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you're paying $40 to a company that prevents you from having what every other modern western country has: $0, and the government did it for you. They stole your $40 every year and used it to lobby Congress.

We have a TON of this kind of catch-22 in the US. Capitalism and all; you can choose the free complicated way or the not-free easy way. You’re still free to complain about either. If I had my way, we’d do a progressive flat-tax; going as high as 75% for anyone making more than 1 million a year with NO returns or deductions whatsoever—-I’m sure you’d happily call me a socialist dunce if I proposed that though.

> If I had my way, we’d do a progressive flat-tax; going as high as 75% for anyone making more than 1 million a year with NO returns or deductions whatsoever

"Progressive flat tax" Those two things are the opposite of each other.

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