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> In this article on how Intuit is working to prevent free filing, ProPublica focuses on Intuit? Why is this surprising? My issue is that the article, and many

> In this article on how Intuit is working to prevent free filing, ProPublica focuses on Intuit? Why is this surprising? My issue is that the article, and many posters here, make it sound like all the ills of the US tax system trace back to Intuit. Statements like (emphasis mine) > Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy and > But the success of TurboTax rests on a shaky foundation, one that could collapse overnight if the U.S. government did what most wealthy countries did long ago and made tax filing simple and free for most citizens. These statements ignore the vested interests that got all the complexity inserted into the tax code in the first place. Intuit didn't create the capital gains tax structure, the laundry list of special interest deductions available to itemizers, the complicated business income/loss rules, or any of the other elements that make preparing taxes a confusing game of hopscotch between various forms and schedules. They also would not be the loudest voice of opposition if any of those elements were to be removed to simplify taxes.

Ensorceled 7y ago
This is "whataboutism" at it's finest. This article is on Intuit. It's focused on Intuit's bad behaviour. ProPublica has other articles on the issues you are complaining about.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  > This is "whataboutism" at it's finest. That's not "whataboutism" at all, as I'm not defending Intuit's behavior. > This article is on Intuit. It's focused on Intuit's bad behaviour. ProPublica has other articles on the issues you are complaining about. I'm saying ProPublica should have referenced those articles, rather than making statements that imply everything is the tax preparation industry's fault.
  - inscionent 7y ago
    So are aren't defending Intuit but, you are just saying that ProPublic must reference other material before focusing on Intuit? What about... This sounds like industry lobbying that will make it harder and more expensive for me to file my tax and increase the net worth of Sasan Goodarzi.
    - vonmoltke 7y ago
      > So are aren't defending Intuit but, you are just saying that ProPublic must reference other material before focusing on Intuit? No, I'm saying ProPublica shouldn't make the situation sound like it's all Intuit's fault.
justin66 7y ago
> My issue is that the article, and many posters here, make it sound like all the ills of the US tax system trace back to Intuit. Nobody except you is taking the article to imply that.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  You're right. I think I'm mostly aggravated by the HN lens I'm viewing this through, which seems to be focusing on the tax prep industry while ignoring the forces that made the tax code a mess in the first place. That is evident from the people saying the IRS could just pre-fill the existing forms (which itself is an oversimplification of the situation).

Ensorceled 7y ago

This is "whataboutism" at it's finest. This article is on Intuit. It's focused on Intuit's bad behaviour. ProPublica has other articles on the issues you are complaining about.

vonmoltke 7y ago
> This is "whataboutism" at it's finest. That's not "whataboutism" at all, as I'm not defending Intuit's behavior. > This article is on Intuit. It's focused on Intuit's bad behaviour. ProPublica has other articles on the issues you are complaining about. I'm saying ProPublica should have referenced those articles, rather than making statements that imply everything is the tax preparation industry's fault.
- inscionent 7y ago
  So are aren't defending Intuit but, you are just saying that ProPublic must reference other material before focusing on Intuit? What about... This sounds like industry lobbying that will make it harder and more expensive for me to file my tax and increase the net worth of Sasan Goodarzi.
  - vonmoltke 7y ago
    > So are aren't defending Intuit but, you are just saying that ProPublic must reference other material before focusing on Intuit? No, I'm saying ProPublica shouldn't make the situation sound like it's all Intuit's fault.

justin66 7y ago

> My issue is that the article, and many posters here, make it sound like all the ills of the US tax system trace back to Intuit. Nobody except you is taking the article to imply that.

vonmoltke 7y ago
You're right. I think I'm mostly aggravated by the HN lens I'm viewing this through, which seems to be focusing on the tax prep industry while ignoring the forces that made the tax code a mess in the first place. That is evident from the people saying the IRS could just pre-fill the existing forms (which itself is an oversimplification of the situation).