3 ms·

CopyPasteTaxes

9 points by breck 6y ago

dang 6y ago
Fundraisers can't be Show HNs so I've taken that out of the title. Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html.
explodingman 6y ago
Dark pattern ahead. The cookie notice has a checkbox (unchecked by default) saying "Do not sell my personal information".
- breck 6y ago
  Sorry, is that an IndieGogo thing? I've never done one of these before. Here's the website with links to the GitHub and Twitter and Reddit: https://copypastetaxes.com/ https://copypastetaxes.com/
nathcd 6y ago
Do you have any expertise in the tax system? If this can be made in 2 months by one person, why hasn't this already been done before? How will $50,000 help you? Your HN profile says that you're an investor - why can't you fund the project yourself?
- breck 6y ago
  Great questions! > Do you have any expertise in the tax system? None! > If this can be made in 2 months by one person, why hasn't this already been done before? Good question! I invented the technology that makes it possible years ago. Then I've tried for like 4 years to get someone else to do it. But then here I am 4 years later, still suffering through TurboTax bugs. I guess just gotta get it going myself. > How will $50,000 help you? It's more about finding early adopters. It's not about the money. It's about people that want to see this happen, and are willing to put some skin in the game. > Your HN profile says that you're an investor - why can't you fund the project yourself? Money isn't the problem. If we can get a community going, that's step #1. Got the problem. Got the tech. Need to get an early community organized.
  - nathcd 6y ago
    I certainly wish you luck - I don't think there's any shortage of people who want tax preparation to be less awful. But am I understanding correctly that you feel you've already got the tech, the money, and the ability to put this together by April, but you'll only do so if people give you $50,000 ahead of time? Why not just build it and then show people how much better it is?
    - breck 6y ago
      > Why not just build it and then show people how much better it is? In my experience you can't build anything great without the help of a community. Or, in other words, it takes a village. And you want to find people who are interested, willing to put skin in the game. You want to filter out critics and tire kickers as soon as possible. You want to find builders. The $50K is an arbitrary constraint to organize that village. The money isn't the goal, the community is.
throwaway4kmk 6y ago
Completely blank page. uBO reporting 16 blocks (including facebook, google, twitter, stripe, and some lesser-known brands) Ghostery listing another 7 blocks (much of the prior, plus adobe) No thanks.
- breck 6y ago
  What does this mean? Sorry I'm not following. Here's the website to the project, if that is better: https://copypastetaxes.com/ https://copypastetaxes.com/ Direct link to video if it's an indiegogo problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN0E-7VKaHg&feature=emb_logo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN0E-7VKaHg&feature=emb_logo
  - throwaway4kmk 6y ago
    Yes, it's totally indigogo's fault -- their website is completely unusable for those with privacy concerns. Thanks for the direct links.
myWindoonn 6y ago
This is solving the wrong problem. Taxes suck in the USA because Intuit exists; the existence of more tools will not fix the problem where tools are required in order to file taxes. For 80% of the country, a 1040 (the "EZ" form) suffices and no adjustments are needed. Those folks are the ones that need help. A $50k fund for a luxury tool is not going to address most peoples' needs.

9 points by breck 6y ago

dang 6y ago

Fundraisers can't be Show HNs so I've taken that out of the title. Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html.

explodingman 6y ago

Dark pattern ahead. The cookie notice has a checkbox (unchecked by default) saying "Do not sell my personal information".

breck 6y ago
Sorry, is that an IndieGogo thing? I've never done one of these before. Here's the website with links to the GitHub and Twitter and Reddit: https://copypastetaxes.com/ https://copypastetaxes.com/

nathcd 6y ago

Do you have any expertise in the tax system? If this can be made in 2 months by one person, why hasn't this already been done before? How will $50,000 help you? Your HN profile says that you're an investor - why can't you fund the project yourself?

breck 6y ago
Great questions! > Do you have any expertise in the tax system? None! > If this can be made in 2 months by one person, why hasn't this already been done before? Good question! I invented the technology that makes it possible years ago. Then I've tried for like 4 years to get someone else to do it. But then here I am 4 years later, still suffering through TurboTax bugs. I guess just gotta get it going myself. > How will $50,000 help you? It's more about finding early adopters. It's not about the money. It's about people that want to see this happen, and are willing to put some skin in the game. > Your HN profile says that you're an investor - why can't you fund the project yourself? Money isn't the problem. If we can get a community going, that's step #1. Got the problem. Got the tech. Need to get an early community organized.
- nathcd 6y ago
  I certainly wish you luck - I don't think there's any shortage of people who want tax preparation to be less awful. But am I understanding correctly that you feel you've already got the tech, the money, and the ability to put this together by April, but you'll only do so if people give you $50,000 ahead of time? Why not just build it and then show people how much better it is?
  - breck 6y ago
    > Why not just build it and then show people how much better it is? In my experience you can't build anything great without the help of a community. Or, in other words, it takes a village. And you want to find people who are interested, willing to put skin in the game. You want to filter out critics and tire kickers as soon as possible. You want to find builders. The $50K is an arbitrary constraint to organize that village. The money isn't the goal, the community is.

throwaway4kmk 6y ago

Completely blank page. uBO reporting 16 blocks (including facebook, google, twitter, stripe, and some lesser-known brands) Ghostery listing another 7 blocks (much of the prior, plus adobe) No thanks.

breck 6y ago
What does this mean? Sorry I'm not following. Here's the website to the project, if that is better: https://copypastetaxes.com/ https://copypastetaxes.com/ Direct link to video if it's an indiegogo problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN0E-7VKaHg&feature=emb_logo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN0E-7VKaHg&feature=emb_logo
- throwaway4kmk 6y ago
  Yes, it's totally indigogo's fault -- their website is completely unusable for those with privacy concerns. Thanks for the direct links.

myWindoonn 6y ago

This is solving the wrong problem. Taxes suck in the USA because Intuit exists; the existence of more tools will not fix the problem where tools are required in order to file taxes. For 80% of the country, a 1040 (the "EZ" form) suffices and no adjustments are needed. Those folks are the ones that need help. A $50k fund for a luxury tool is not going to address most peoples' needs.