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Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

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Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#271

Post by [deleted] »

loeg wrote: post #209
torstenvl wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FICA taxes are, as a matter of inarguable, objective fact, regressive, which is to say that people who make more money pay a lower rate of FICA taxes. This is due to two facts: (a) FICA taxes do not apply to interest or capital gains or other income sources that apply solely to middle class and above; and (b) FICA taxes do not apply to income above ~$160k. Please do not post misinformation.

The FICA system, of which taxes are one component, also pays out a lower proportion to higher earners. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/bendpoints.html It is incorrect to describe the system as regressive. It's a little weird to lump it all together as FICA taxes, too. Social security is more of a mandatory pension program that caps both contributions and benefits for high earners (in addition to progressively lower ben…

[deleted]

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#272

Post by nathanasmith »

tmountain wrote: post #8

It’s amazing that 54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level, but it is expected for the same population to have the financial literacy to file their taxes accurately. Going further, the IRS already knows the details of most people’s taxes before they file, yet everyone is expected to complete what amounts to a complex task for many people. I cannot fathom why it is still done this way.

>54% of adults in the United States have a literacy below 6th grade level

I don't care how many times this is repeated it's utterly preposterous. Imagine being so naive or less charitably to possess the motivated reasoning to actually believe this shit.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#273

Post by janalsncm »

tlb wrote: post #51
janalsncm wrote: post #22

Listening to Congress “debate” this made me unreasonably upset. If you as a sitting politician have received monetary benefits from a tax filing service you should not be allowed to speak.

And, to be fair to both sides, politicians who have received money from taxpayers should not be allowed to speak.

No. Congress represents the American people, not corporations. There is no “both sides” between people and corporations any more than there is a both sides between Americans and Canadians when discussing a trade bill.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#274

Post by janalsncm »

maxrecursion wrote: post #182
janalsncm wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Liberty and privacy are fashionable. The problem is that our Congress passes hundreds of pages of domestic spying legislation in the middle of the night. It’s not exactly the School House Rock democratic process we learned about in 4th grade. But that’s really beside the point. If you are like millions of other Americans filing W2s, the fact that you work for your employer isn’t a secret. Your salary isn’t a secret.…

If they got rid of all the deductions and loopholes most people wouldn't need to file as the only thing they'd have to put on their taxes is their W2 income. I believe the IRS is even informed of things like 401k disbursement and stock sales. Meaning most people wouldn't have to submit for those either. The gains of simplify the tax code are gargantuan, but unfortunately, the wealthy and powerful organizations benefi…

Part of the problem is that the main way the government knows how to give people money is through tax deductions. It doesn’t have to be that way. Covid checks demonstrated that grants are possible. That in and of itself would simple things, since there would just be a list of things you can apply for.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#275

Post by therealdrag0 »

nxm wrote: post #254
mikestew wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve paid no tax and I’ve paid lots of tax. I did not care in either case how much I was paying in taxes (it is what it is). What I did care about is how much of a pain in the as it is. Mail me a goddamn postcard telling me how much I owe and be done with it. And then to find out one political party would prefer that I suffer so I’ll vote the way they want? Yeah, fuck those guys, I’m voting for the other ones.

Well perhaps you don’t care, but majority of people care and feel the impact of higher taxes. I’d rather not have the government waste more of my money

Wouldn’t sending a postcard with amount paid in taxes the same effect without causing everyone pain?

The only thing anti-taxers need for their project is awareness of taxes paid, which can be done without needless pain.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#276

Post by jcranmer »

anon291 wrote: post #263
jcranmer wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Following tax forms is so braindead simple One year, I had to spend a good deal of time working around a cycle in my taxes--VA wanted me to do my CA taxes first and CA wanted me to do my VA taxes first, and the instructions that explained how to handle this situation were only one on the one form that needed to be used to solve it, with nothing telling you maybe you should look for that form instead. Furthermore, t…

> It's knowing which lines shouldn't be 0! Whether or not you do your taxes by hand, you should probably have a good idea of your income sources.

It's not about knowing the income sources. It's about knowing how those income sources fit into the tax rules. Put differently, for the purposes of taxes, your money has a kaleidoscope of colors, with different colors incurring different tax rules, and most people are to a degree colorblind when it comes to their money's colors. Not completely colorblind, but trying to work out if your color is mauve or magenta, for example.

The solution to this of course is to simplify the tax code so that you don't have so many colors to your money. I very much would love to see this happen, but it will produce howls of protests from every special interest group who benefits from special tax advantage to their interests.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#277

Post by 946789987649 »

nneonneo wrote: post #2

I did my Canadian taxes for me and my spouse on a free filing site last night, in less than two hours, for $0. Everything was prefilled; practically the only thing I had to fix was to convert an imported investment statement from USD to CAD, and double check that everything was accurate. I welcome the Americans to the delightful convenience of hassle-free taxes!

It can be even better - in the UK unless you earn over a large amount, or know for a fact you have some special circumstances, you never have to do a thing.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#278

Post by tadfisher »

loeg wrote: post #268
tadfisher wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The vast majority of working adults have to file a W-4, receive paystubs that shw exactly how much they're withholding for state and federal taxes, and get a W-2 every year with the totals. The 1099 is just busywork that doesn't give the taxpayer any extra information. I fail to see how prefilled forms would fail to alert taxpayers to the amount of taxes they pay.

By 1099, do you mean 1040?

Yes, thanks!

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#279

Post by bananskalhalk »

AshamedCaptain wrote: post #173
bedobi wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sweden has never had secret ballot. The “Valmyndigheten” election authority themselves have criticized the lack of secrecy and general chaos with Sweden’s ballots. But what do they know? They only administer the elections. Swedes have a highly developed superiority complex and ability to perform mental gymnastics about the flaws of their country and ways of doing things. No sane person from any other country in the w…

Can't you just pick ballots for more than one party before going into the "secret" booth?

Yeah, and blank ones if you want to write down the party of your choice. You could bring your own ballot if you so choose, or vote pretty much anywhere else than were you live during a ~ three week long period.

Re: Claiming high user satisfaction, IRS will decide on renewing free tax site

#280

Post by bananskalhalk »

bedobi wrote: post #156
bananskalhalk wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Secret ballot was introduced 1866 in Sweden. I think we were the third country in the world to do so.

Sweden has never had secret ballot. The “Valmyndigheten” election authority themselves have criticized the lack of secrecy and general chaos with Sweden’s ballots. But what do they know? They only administer the elections. Swedes have a highly developed superiority complex and ability to perform mental gymnastics about the flaws of their country and ways of doing things. No sane person from any other country in the w…

The government agency was tasked with finding ways of improving their work. One of the things they recommended was for the selection of ballots to be hidden, which has been implemented since then.

It will probably have a negative effect on the ability for smaller parties to get started.

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