241–250 of 338 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And that's why our west coast cities, which are not run by the half that hates government, are shining beacons of just how effective and successful governments can be.
I'll bite. In what ways are non west coast cities is more efficient than west coast cities?
Just one thing to add… The “IRS will functionally increase taxes” argument is a distraction and I doubt anyone here takes it seriously. But the argument matters because it has given Congress political cover to let Intuit keep leeching off the system, so a response is in order. Congress should require the IRS to give every person an auditable receipt of every tax they paid in a standard format. Then, truly public-mind…
I have a hard time understanding why the IRS doesn't at least have a basic web portal for individuals and businesses to do simple things like update addresses, send secure correspondence, check on the status of correspondence, file forms electronically, etc. A lot of paper forms and letters, human resources and time could be saved with such a system, even if it doesn't actually provide for any tax computations itself…
Unfortunately it can't do everything, but you can get your tax notices there, check filing status, refund status, get tax transcripts, etc.
I just file my taxes by hand and mail it in. Somewhat less concern with 3rd parties holding my information and losing it to leaks/hacks. It is free. A little obnoxious but the forms do have instructions/directions.
Just one thing to add… The “IRS will functionally increase taxes” argument is a distraction and I doubt anyone here takes it seriously. But the argument matters because it has given Congress political cover to let Intuit keep leeching off the system, so a response is in order. Congress should require the IRS to give every person an auditable receipt of every tax they paid in a standard format. Then, truly public-mind…
I don't think it's really a distraction. It seems illogical for the government to not have a free, easy way for the taxpayer to remit their taxes to the government (or submit the paperwork that should generate a return from that government). But at the same time I think it's fine to be skeptical that you should trust the government to be honest in showing you what amount of taxes you actually owe given how complicate…
>Is the free-filing system designed to maximize your return?
Why does it need to? I mean, why do you need a tax return, if your taxes would be lower if you just got charged the right amount in the first place? And then isn't the role of society to audit their own taxes, and at the same time support candidates that vow to simplify the tax code?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It pre-assumes the amount owed is correct (in both the calculated and the policy sense) and sets the expectation that you probably owe whatever the pre-calculated amount is. Considering the penalties for getting it wrong. Simply no. You assume it is correct if it matches the data you have, not by default. What it does do is stop you from having to calculate the nitty whitty parts of the statements when the data fro…
>Considering the penalties for getting it wrong. Simply no. You assume it is correct if it matches the data you have, not by default. We live in a world where people routinely borrow from "tribal lending services" at 500% APR. Where they buy a car on the monthly payment value without consideration for APR or loan term. Where an entire financial crisis was caused in large part by people taking out bad loans they knew…
Rephrasing your response, it sounds like you would say you expect most tax payers lack the ability (or interest) to compute their taxes correctly under any circumstances.
Review has nothing to do with it.
I believe that providing people the correct numbers is just going to increase compliance. They don´t want to audit anything. They want to pay what they have to pay and get on with the rest of their lives.
Is there any documentation on how an average person living in the US files their taxes ? Are you forced to use third party services ? How exactly is it hard to do your taxes on your own ?
No, nobody is "forced" to spend $60 to save hours of their free time researching tax code. If the tax system were simpler, doing it yourself would be more appealing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For those who don't know, of those 12 states, only 4 actually have income taxes. The other 8 do not. This whole system stinks. The overly complicated tax code, the sleazy corporations making tons of money on it, the entrenched politicians and bureacrats who make a living on it, etc.
We can still appreciate progress. And this is progress. Although if the IRS is gonna audit when I under pay, they technically already know how much I owe. Why not just tell me? Reckon it's since people also over pay, and there's no refunds for doing that.
So not only can they do it for you, they can do it better!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
patio11 has a huge and well known bias here, which is that he wants to claim, not necessarily with evidence, that all inefficiency is caused by governments and not by the private sector. A comparison of tax filing in the United States with other countries, including those where governments are much bigger and more interventionist, leads to a different conclusion.
>that all inefficiency is caused by governments Forget about the evidence of other countries (which is completely valid), I just hate the argument that government inherently because it's government is inefficient and will never be effective In the US half the people in charge of the government hate it and want it to fail. Of course it's going to be bloated, inefficient, and costly. It's being sabotaged from the top.…
How are republicans sabotaging New York City, San Francisco, etc? Historically, half of all governmental spending in the country happens at the state and local level—-and that comprises most of the services that affect people’s daily lives the most. Blue states could have big, active, well run governments if that were possible, and republicans could do very little to “sabotage” them.
In practice, the most well-run places in the country tend to be moderate red areas where government has limited objectives but does it well. I grew up in red state Virginia and it was very well run. When California was well run, it was a red state. Florida is a well run state. I live in a Romney ‘12 county in a blue state, and it’s really well run, unlike Baltimore, where I used to live. I actually love going to the county landfill/recycling center, because it’s so neat and orderly and well run.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>that all inefficiency is caused by governments Forget about the evidence of other countries (which is completely valid), I just hate the argument that government inherently because it's government is inefficient and will never be effective In the US half the people in charge of the government hate it and want it to fail. Of course it's going to be bloated, inefficient, and costly. It's being sabotaged from the top.…
And that's why our west coast cities, which are not run by the half that hates government, are shining beacons of just how effective and successful governments can be.