5 ms·

If it also does my taxes automatically, sign me up.

by pa7ch 5y ago

cuteboy19 5y ago
Agreed. The only reason why government want CBDCs is convenience. They can already seize whatever bank account they like, it doesn't give them any more powers. It's just easier than having 50 different systems to have one unified system.
babyshake 5y ago
Nah they will want you to be scared of the panopticon surveillance and the threat of punishment for getting your taxes wrong.
nly 5y ago
Are taxes in the US that painful? In the UK I do my tax return every year and it takes me all of about 30 minutes and I only need a few browser tabs open in front of me (typically just my broker and HMRC)
- parkingrift 5y ago
  > Are taxes in the US that painful? For most people, no. However, as you make your way up the income bracket or acquire investments or property it gets more and more complicated. …and if you mess it up the IRS will be sure to tell you what you’ve done wrong and what you actually owed.
  - thehappypm 5y ago
    Yeah it sucks pretty bad. Like my wife’s company does RSU transactions every like month and we need to adjust the cost basis for each one for some reason. This is a Fortune 50 company.
- AitchEmArsey 5y ago
  Thank you citizen! (check username)
- iso1631 5y ago
  That's unusual, majority of people in the UK have simple taxes and don't need to fill in any forms. The US is deliberatly difficult because 1) Companies make a fortune selling "solutions" to this, thus spend a lot of money ensuring it continues 2) Americans don't like taxes, so by making it more obvious the government is taking your tax money, and making it painful in the process, to fund their military, it helps cement that idea there's should be a small state The US takes 27% of the GDP in tax, the UK 33%, although personal taxes for normal people tend to be about the same, its just that the US pretty much requires an accountant, or at least some expensive proprietary software, and hours of your time.
  - mjevans 5y ago
    For that 33% (+6%) you also get universal healthcare (which isn't accounted for in the 27% Americans are paying), so those numbers aren't apples to apples. That would be another thing that would be great for the GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO)) to produce reports about. Where are (my / your) Tax dollars going? How does that compare to other countries, in absolute, per person, GDP and other metrics, etc?
    - EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 5y ago
      Americans chose great army instead of healthcare.
      - iso1631 5y ago
        The US government still spends more on healthcare as a total amount per person (about $1.4T, or $3,880 per person, just for medicare+medicaid), compared with the UK (about $3,300 per person) The US as a whole in 2019 spent 16% of its GDP on Health, 4% on Military The UK meanwhile spent 10% on Health and 3% on Military
        EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 5y ago
        Have you been to a doctors office in the US? There are more administrators filling out insurance papers than doctors. US spends money on healthcare administration, not on healthcare. The same dollar in the US buys ten times less insulin than a dollar in Canada.
- espadrine 5y ago
  In France, it went all the way to where I don’t do any tax filing; the government does it for me, and sends me a PDF itemizing their tax, and automatically debiting it from my account. There is no CBDC needed for that. (In fact, all the article’s fears about payment prevention and free speech restriction are all possible without CBDC, and already in place in some segments that gained popular support, which minorities and SW have been complaining about across the decades.)
socialdemocrat 5y ago
Aren’t taxes already done automatically. My taxes here in Norway have been filled out by the government for as long as I can remember (I am 44). All I got to do is look over what they have filled out and correct it if I think anything is wrong. If no it is automatically delivered. Dealing with taxes takes like 5 minutes each year. It is all electronic. Just like you can sign anything electronically using encryption keys for any nationally reckognized ID system in Norway. I just electronically signed papers to start a company. 15 minute process online.
- weberer 5y ago
  >All I got to do is look over what they have filled out and correct it if I think anything is wrong. Its pretty much the same in the USA if you just have income from a standard job. You send them your W2 form with the last year's salary and make sure everything is right. If you're self-employed, earned income some other way (capital gains, etc), or live in a state with additional state income tax, you have to fill out some more forms. Then it gets a bit complicated calculating deductions. Which means you have to put in some effort if you want to lower your effective tax rate. There's deductions for everything under the sun since the tax code is very complex. You get some money back if you paid interest on student loans, have kids, bought a house, spend money on office supplies, gave to charity, etc. Some people spend a few hundred on a tax advisor to do it for them and still come out ahead. Many people simply don't bother and let the money go. The IRS only comes after you if you underpay, not overpay.

If it also does my taxes automatically, sign me up.

by pa7ch 5y ago

If it also does my taxes automatically, sign me up.

Agreed. The only reason why government want CBDCs is convenience. They can already seize whatever bank account they like, it doesn't give them any more powers. It's just easier than having 50 different systems to have one unified system.

babyshake 5y ago

Nah they will want you to be scared of the panopticon surveillance and the threat of punishment for getting your taxes wrong.

nly 5y ago

Are taxes in the US that painful? In the UK I do my tax return every year and it takes me all of about 30 minutes and I only need a few browser tabs open in front of me (typically just my broker and HMRC)

parkingrift 5y ago
> Are taxes in the US that painful? For most people, no. However, as you make your way up the income bracket or acquire investments or property it gets more and more complicated. …and if you mess it up the IRS will be sure to tell you what you’ve done wrong and what you actually owed.
- thehappypm 5y ago
  Yeah it sucks pretty bad. Like my wife’s company does RSU transactions every like month and we need to adjust the cost basis for each one for some reason. This is a Fortune 50 company.
AitchEmArsey 5y ago
Thank you citizen! (check username)
iso1631 5y ago
That's unusual, majority of people in the UK have simple taxes and don't need to fill in any forms. The US is deliberatly difficult because 1) Companies make a fortune selling "solutions" to this, thus spend a lot of money ensuring it continues 2) Americans don't like taxes, so by making it more obvious the government is taking your tax money, and making it painful in the process, to fund their military, it helps cement that idea there's should be a small state The US takes 27% of the GDP in tax, the UK 33%, although personal taxes for normal people tend to be about the same, its just that the US pretty much requires an accountant, or at least some expensive proprietary software, and hours of your time.
- mjevans 5y ago
  For that 33% (+6%) you also get universal healthcare (which isn't accounted for in the 27% Americans are paying), so those numbers aren't apples to apples. That would be another thing that would be great for the GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO)) to produce reports about. Where are (my / your) Tax dollars going? How does that compare to other countries, in absolute, per person, GDP and other metrics, etc?
  - EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 5y ago
    Americans chose great army instead of healthcare.
    - iso1631 5y ago
      The US government still spends more on healthcare as a total amount per person (about $1.4T, or $3,880 per person, just for medicare+medicaid), compared with the UK (about $3,300 per person) The US as a whole in 2019 spent 16% of its GDP on Health, 4% on Military The UK meanwhile spent 10% on Health and 3% on Military
      - EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 5y ago
        Have you been to a doctors office in the US? There are more administrators filling out insurance papers than doctors. US spends money on healthcare administration, not on healthcare. The same dollar in the US buys ten times less insulin than a dollar in Canada.
espadrine 5y ago
In France, it went all the way to where I don’t do any tax filing; the government does it for me, and sends me a PDF itemizing their tax, and automatically debiting it from my account. There is no CBDC needed for that. (In fact, all the article’s fears about payment prevention and free speech restriction are all possible without CBDC, and already in place in some segments that gained popular support, which minorities and SW have been complaining about across the decades.)

socialdemocrat 5y ago

Aren’t taxes already done automatically. My taxes here in Norway have been filled out by the government for as long as I can remember (I am 44). All I got to do is look over what they have filled out and correct it if I think anything is wrong. If no it is automatically delivered. Dealing with taxes takes like 5 minutes each year. It is all electronic. Just like you can sign anything electronically using encryption keys for any nationally reckognized ID system in Norway. I just electronically signed papers to start a company. 15 minute process online.

weberer 5y ago
>All I got to do is look over what they have filled out and correct it if I think anything is wrong. Its pretty much the same in the USA if you just have income from a standard job. You send them your W2 form with the last year's salary and make sure everything is right. If you're self-employed, earned income some other way (capital gains, etc), or live in a state with additional state income tax, you have to fill out some more forms. Then it gets a bit complicated calculating deductions. Which means you have to put in some effort if you want to lower your effective tax rate. There's deductions for everything under the sun since the tax code is very complex. You get some money back if you paid interest on student loans, have kids, bought a house, spend money on office supplies, gave to charity, etc. Some people spend a few hundred on a tax advisor to do it for them and still come out ahead. Many people simply don't bother and let the money go. The IRS only comes after you if you underpay, not overpay.