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There would be no problem with TurboTax if it was a product that solved a real problem. If the complexity of the tax code and the process to file your taxes wer

by shados 6y ago

There would be no problem with TurboTax if it was a product that solved a real problem. If the complexity of the tax code and the process to file your taxes were 100% a problem created by the federal government and the states. It works pretty well, it's not too expensive, it has free options, not what's to like? It isn't like that though. The IRS has nearly all the pieces it needs, if not all the pieces, to create a system like the UK, where they just send you your return and you sign it unless you think there's a mistake. But that system doesn't exist because of companies like Intuit who lobby hard to prevent it from existing. In essence, Turbotax is solving a problem that Intuit is creating (or at least lobby to prevent anyone from fixing it).

jeffbee 6y ago
> The IRS has nearly all the pieces it needs Some things would need to change to make this statement true. Stock brokers and portfolio managers would have to be forced to stop reporting gains without basis. Without the basis the IRS has no idea what your gains were.
- scott_s 6y ago
  Only about half of Americans have any investment in the stock market - and yes, that includes 401ks. That means more than half the population can file taxes without information from brokers or portfolio managers, which means not having that information is not a good reason to not do this.
  - jeffbee 6y ago
    For people with simple tax returns, aren't they already using the 1040 EZ? Doesn't seem like you'd use TurboTax unless you were itemizing or had a Sched. D to fill out.
    - scott_s 6y ago
      For many years, I filled out a 1040 EZ, and I used TurboTax to do it. For me, it wasn't about ease of filling out my taxes, as they were trivial. It was about ease of filing my taxes, as it was all online and I didn't have to physically mail anything. So, yes, such people are already using the simplest possible form, but ease of filing is a big deal, and I suspect many people are like me and use online filing software for that just as much as ease of filling out the forms.
      - jeffbee 6y ago
        I guess I'm so old that my personal recollection of the 1040EZ was that you got it in the mail, filled it out, and mailed it back. There was a time wen TurboTax existed and e-File did not yet exist, so filing wasn't one of the benefits of it. I also only just realized that the IRS no longer just mails everybody a form 1040 and instruction book.
- shados 6y ago
  Aren't stock brokers forced NOT to include the basis right now? Fidelity reports the basis in a supplement section in the same damn document. Moving them together would be trivial, but I've been told the law is forcing them to do it this way (they didn't tell me that, I just read that somewhere. Not sure if it's true). As someone said, almost no one has investments. If you remove 401k, it's a tiny fraction of people. If the only thing I'd have to do to file my taxes would be going online, finding the list of my sales and needing to add the cost basis then click submit, it would still be a huge improvement compared to what we have now. Still, it's a problem that's pretty easily solved.

by shados 6y ago

jeffbee 6y ago

> The IRS has nearly all the pieces it needs Some things would need to change to make this statement true. Stock brokers and portfolio managers would have to be forced to stop reporting gains without basis. Without the basis the IRS has no idea what your gains were.

scott_s 6y ago
Only about half of Americans have any investment in the stock market - and yes, that includes 401ks. That means more than half the population can file taxes without information from brokers or portfolio managers, which means not having that information is not a good reason to not do this.
- jeffbee 6y ago
  For people with simple tax returns, aren't they already using the 1040 EZ? Doesn't seem like you'd use TurboTax unless you were itemizing or had a Sched. D to fill out.
  - scott_s 6y ago
    For many years, I filled out a 1040 EZ, and I used TurboTax to do it. For me, it wasn't about ease of filling out my taxes, as they were trivial. It was about ease of filing my taxes, as it was all online and I didn't have to physically mail anything. So, yes, such people are already using the simplest possible form, but ease of filing is a big deal, and I suspect many people are like me and use online filing software for that just as much as ease of filling out the forms.
    - jeffbee 6y ago
      I guess I'm so old that my personal recollection of the 1040EZ was that you got it in the mail, filled it out, and mailed it back. There was a time wen TurboTax existed and e-File did not yet exist, so filing wasn't one of the benefits of it. I also only just realized that the IRS no longer just mails everybody a form 1040 and instruction book.
shados 6y ago
Aren't stock brokers forced NOT to include the basis right now? Fidelity reports the basis in a supplement section in the same damn document. Moving them together would be trivial, but I've been told the law is forcing them to do it this way (they didn't tell me that, I just read that somewhere. Not sure if it's true). As someone said, almost no one has investments. If you remove 401k, it's a tiny fraction of people. If the only thing I'd have to do to file my taxes would be going online, finding the list of my sales and needing to add the cost basis then click submit, it would still be a huge improvement compared to what we have now. Still, it's a problem that's pretty easily solved.