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Honestly, I think it'd be better to start a non-profit that releases tax software, first. It could compete with tax software, like from Intuit & H&R Block, as m
by justabystander 10y ago
Honestly, I think it'd be better to start a non-profit that releases tax software, first. It could compete with tax software, like from Intuit & H&R Block, as most of the needed services are rather simple. It would either charge just enough to cover costs, or be completely free, if donations for the year was sufficient. The tax software support could be done on a contract basis, where people certified people could login and handle queries on an hourly rate. The work from home crowd would love it.
Build it out enough, and then push a few legislative mandates:
1. All taxes have to be easily payable in tax software.
2. All taxes have to be payable online.
3. Every tax jurisdiction has to offer a tax estimation service, where they can download pre-calculated data to use in tax software.
Should make predatory companies like Intuit disappear in less than a decade.
- GauntletWizard 10y agoAbsolutely. But don't think that you'll have an easy time of it. Expect that 501c(3) status won't come, because ultimately it's the IRS that makes that call, and they've already been suborned or cowed to the pressure of the tax preparers. Expect your credentials to be challenged. You need a license to prepare taxes for other people - And I expect they'll try to say every developer who touches a line of code must have one. Expect character assasination, and every mistake to be amplified. Buzzfeed will run "10 dangers of using open source software to do your taxes". The forms will become even more of a moving target than they are now, and APIs will absolutely not be public. But it's a fight that should be fought. This is the kind of thing that makes better government, kicking and screaming.