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One reason this has been difficult to get approve is that low-tax crusaders have been blocking it. However you want to frame that -- people who want no taxes at
by rconti 4y ago
One reason this has been difficult to get approve is that low-tax crusaders have been blocking it. However you want to frame that -- people who want no taxes at all, people who simply don't want taxes to go up more, whatever.
Automatic income tax withholding was opposed for the reason reason(s). People who want taxes to be lower don't want the "pain" of taxes to be hidden. They want people to cringe every time they write a check for tens of thousands of their hard-earned dollars, not just have it magically spirited off to the government.
Filling out taxes helps share some of the same pain. Every year, every tax filer thinks "man, taxes suck." This undoubtedly has at least some effect on voters' willingness to pay even more.
- Spivak 4y agoWhich is fine, if you want the number to be front and center then do that, have the pain be in the sticker shock not the process of paying it.
- throwayyy479087 4y agoI agree - a better way to accomplish this aim is to have a free system, then send out a receipt to every filer saying "YOU PAID $133,349 IN TAXES" The IRS being the only org most people have to figure out what they owe money to is bizarre, especially given the penalties.
- divbzero 4y ago> People who want taxes to be lower don't want the "pain" of taxes to be hidden. They want people to cringe every time they write a check for tens of thousands of their hard-earned dollars, not just have it magically spirited off to the government. This argument against automated tax filing seems to make sense to me. But if it’s true, shouldn’t we have manual tax returns for vehicles, real estate, sales, and fuel?
- pclmulqdq 4y agoWe actually do have these things in some places, although things like the gas tax and the sales tax are levied on stores, not individual consumers - they just pass the cost on to consumers. There is a tax analogous to a sales tax in most US states called a "consumption tax" or something similar, where you are asked to pay sales tax on stuff you bought outside of the state (and list the stuff). I have personally filled out real estate tax forms and car-related tax forms.
- ChicagoBoy11 4y agoI'm sympathetic to this argument IFF the standard were that I'd get my full pay, for instance, and then would be responsible for taxes later. I'd hazard a guess that conversation would not go over very well at all with my HR department.
- DevX101 4y agoMany tax filers are getting refunds from withheld taxes, so filling out taxes is 'rewarded' in the moment. I think you could share the pain, by having the IRS send an annual invoice to each tax payer, stating clearly how much they paid the government.
- cwkoss 4y agoWould that constituency have the power to block progress on this issue if not for intuit lobbyists? It's crazy that people are still going to jail for grams of weed while people who have wasted billions of dollars of human productivity every year get to walk free.
- anm89 4y agoDo you have any evidence you can show that this is true? I've never heard anyone make this argument.