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IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

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Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#481

Post by MontyCarloHall »

samrus wrote: post #446
amelius wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes you wonder why there wasn't an open source tool for this to begin with. Why did nobody feel the urge to make this?

I would imagine because of the self barter nature of open source. Open source only works when the group that can make the tools are also the group that uses them. So they are bartering with themselves. That's how they "pay" for it. But contributing back to the shared pool of resources Taxpayers can't contribute back to the pool that software engineers use. The people who build it will not be "compensated" with other…

>Open source only works when the group that can make the tools are also the group that uses them

Counterpoint: Blender is a wildly successful open-source 3D modeling tool. Yet the majority of Blender developers are not 3D artists, and the majority of Blender artists are not developers.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#482

Post by toomuchtodo »

cactusfrog wrote: post #457
opzz wrote: post #425

They should open source this. I would actually contribute to making this usable.

I want to start making a series of open source template sites for government agencies

https://design-system.service.gov.uk/

https://designsystem.digital.gov/documentation/showcase/

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#484

Post by digging »

bcraven wrote: post #479

The (fantastic) Reply All podcast episode #144, "Dark Pattern" covers tax returns.[0] In summary, the US government made a deal with private industry that as long as that industry offered a free tier of tax returns, the government would never create its own tax filing system. I wonder what has changed! [0] https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/6nhgol

Yes, I remember reading all about the for-profit tax filing scheme/scam on ProPublica years ago. Weirdly, I remember coming away from it thinking that the federal gov't had actually entered a binding agreement, so I thought it was illegal to make the move they're making now. I don't know where I got that idea and I'm so glad it was wrong.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#485

Post by anaganisk »

mttjj wrote: post #435
rocketbop wrote: post #424

> A direct-to-IRS e-file system is wholly redundant and is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem," said Rick Heineman, a spokesman for Intuit, the company behind TurboTax. "That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans." Extraordinary that he could say that sentence with what I assume was a straight face.

Exactly. I read that statement and now I think I need to go to the ER because I strained my eyes from rolling them so hard. I'm curious what he means by this solution harming vulnerable Americans. Are they the same vulnerable Americans that TurboTax tricked into paying for their product after enticing them in with promises of "completely free filing"?

Nah, it's the shareholders and execs of TurboTax and the likes. How are they supposed to afford another Yacht.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#486

Post by bradfa »

If the federal government really wanted to save money on tax collection, improve the accuracy of tax collection, and drive the tax preparation industry out of business which would save every person and company significant money, then the federal government would just simplify the tax code.

Any high school graduate should be smart enough to file their own taxes. That this is not true today is simply insane.

For tax incentives such as buying a qualifying electric vehicle, just provide the incentive directly to the car dealership at the time of purchase. Businesses which want to pass along such savings to their customers will need to do some paperwork and it'll be much harder to restrict benefits only to specific income brackets, but it would be much simpler and cheaper for taxpayers.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#487

Post by Ensorceled »

BigCryo wrote: post #476

The real problem is that Congress is bought and paid for by the tax return industry so that they can create an ever more complicated tax system that forces people to use the tax return industry

The "ever more complicated tax system" is actually intended to make it easier for rich donors (with lawyers and tax accountants) to pay less taxes. That the complexity also props up the tax return industry is just gravy.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#488

Post by jcranmer »

rocketbop wrote: post #424

> A direct-to-IRS e-file system is wholly redundant and is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem," said Rick Heineman, a spokesman for Intuit, the company behind TurboTax. "That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans." Extraordinary that he could say that sentence with what I assume was a straight face.

There are about ~160 million people who need to file taxes each year. TurboTax for each year costs something like $40-150 depending on how complex a version you need. If it costs billions of dollars to role out a free system that's as good as TurboTax, that'll still pay for the cost of TurboTax or similar software within a few years at the longest.

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#489

Post by digging »

latchkey wrote: post #471
smeagull wrote: post #449

In my country I don't need to do anything. They calculate the tax, and if I owe anything extra, or am owed a return, I get mail about it. But there are downsides too, we also have free healthcare and the last school shooting was more than 80 years ago.

I know in Vietnam, they kind of do this too. Employers pay employee tax directly from the paychecks and it is based on salary. So a lot of the companies report that their employees make less, or they pay the employee part of their salary in cash (if it a cash business). I'm curious how you know they aren't cheating you somehow? Also, how could their numbers be off (high/low)? In the US, there are all sorts of 'deduct…

> I'm curious how you know they aren't cheating you somehow?

How do we know that now, in the US? I don't know the details of tax calculations; I get money deducted from my paychecks, I pay a website so I can copy information from many confusing forms onto one confusing form, and then I get some money. It's inscrutable to most people.

And frankly, the for-profit system is currently cheating us, so...

Re: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants

#490

Post by kenjackson »

jandrese wrote: post #16

For what it is worth, even with my medium-complex tax return I have had great results with freetaxusa.com for the past few years. The first couple of times we used it we ran the taxes through TurboTax and FreeTax at the same time and due to better UI the FreeTax version was faster and less confusing. That said, at the end of the process after entering all of the same information in the same places the TurboTax one di…

I think mine are pretty simple, but I'm still cautious. How is FreeTax with stocks, options, employee stock plans, etc...?
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