4 ms·

It could be done, but it requires the IRS to be given far more resources, and for it to change the filing deadlines and reporting requirements for lots of depen

It could be done, but it requires the IRS to be given far more resources, and for it to change the filing deadlines and reporting requirements for lots of dependent forms. It also requires all the states' revenue departments to coordinate with the IRS, because if everyone needs to file a correction based on state taxes anyway the system doesn't make much sense.

kelnos 8y ago
I'm fine with all that if it needs to be done. We can stop wasting billions of dollars a year on the tax prep industry and instead send a tiny fraction of that amount to the IRS so they can beef up their operations. The one issue I see is that a lot of people expect to be able to file their taxes (and get their refund) by early February. People who have brokerage accounts (and other things) generally can't do this, as brokerage tax forms aren't due until mid-March. Since the IRS wouldn't know who does and does not wait on brokerage forms, they'd have to wait on everyone, and delay sending out pre-filled forms until late March. A lot of people would be pissed about not getting their refund in early February like they're used to. (Personally I think this is a dumb thing to get pissed about, but at the end of the day you have to convince voters it's ok, and the backlash against this would be huge.) Requiring that brokerages and other entities with a later deadline move their deadline up to late January just might be a non-starter for some. Then again, if I look at my 1099-DIV and 1099-B forms, it's not clear why it takes so long to prepare them. All it takes is a DB query against my transaction history for the year that could be done on January 1st; no need to wait 2.5 months. Certainly some forms couldn't be prepared until businesses close their prior-year books, but I think that'd affect a small minority of taxpayers.

kelnos 8y ago

I'm fine with all that if it needs to be done. We can stop wasting billions of dollars a year on the tax prep industry and instead send a tiny fraction of that amount to the IRS so they can beef up their operations. The one issue I see is that a lot of people expect to be able to file their taxes (and get their refund) by early February. People who have brokerage accounts (and other things) generally can't do this, as brokerage tax forms aren't due until mid-March. Since the IRS wouldn't know who does and does not wait on brokerage forms, they'd have to wait on everyone, and delay sending out pre-filled forms until late March. A lot of people would be pissed about not getting their refund in early February like they're used to. (Personally I think this is a dumb thing to get pissed about, but at the end of the day you have to convince voters it's ok, and the backlash against this would be huge.) Requiring that brokerages and other entities with a later deadline move their deadline up to late January just might be a non-starter for some. Then again, if I look at my 1099-DIV and 1099-B forms, it's not clear why it takes so long to prepare them. All it takes is a DB query against my transaction history for the year that could be done on January 1st; no need to wait 2.5 months. Certainly some forms couldn't be prepared until businesses close their prior-year books, but I think that'd affect a small minority of taxpayers.