5 ms·

In Portugal, if you are an employee or pensioner and have no other sources of income, the tax form is filled in automatically for you. Just confirm if you want,

In Portugal, if you are an employee or pensioner and have no other sources of income, the tax form is filled in automatically for you. Just confirm if you want, and hit 'send'.

pavlov 4y ago
This is the case in almost all European countries nowadays. The US tax and banking systems are so bad that it’s genuinely hard to understand from the Euro perspective.
- paulryanrogers 4y ago
  US system is difficult by design. Automation would make filing less painful, and one party dislikes taxes so prefers people feel the pain.
  - lokar 4y ago
    The IRS could do a simple automatic return for the vast majority of Americans. Lobbying from intuit prevents it.
    - Turing_Machine 4y ago
      While Intuit and their friends do lobby, the US tax code was fiendishly complex long before Intuit was even a thing. "The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know when it's through, if you are a crook or a martyr." -- Will Rogers Will Rogers died in 1935.
      - lokar 4y ago
        But the majority of Americans have only w2 income and no deductions
        1123581321 4y ago
        Their taxes are easy, too. Just a handful of clicks through a free e-filing system. Most can also use a free in-person filing service (VITA.) Most of the thousands of hours you hear about comes from working through legitimate complexity (complicated assets, stock splits, self-employment, etc.) That’s not to say it wouldn’t be good to have more computing thrown at automating the rules for that complexity.
        Turing_Machine 4y ago
        Right. Even a paper 1040EZ doesn't take more than a few minutes... probably even less online.
        ghaff 4y ago
        The 1040EZ was eliminated I believe. But the same applies to the 1040 if you're just basically entering W2 info.
        sidewndr46 4y ago
        If you're an American and have 0 deductions you're seriously incompetent as an adult. The standard deduction is available to almost all taxpayers and requires no evidence, documentation, or proof of any kind: https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/00/00_13_005.jsp#:~:text=The%20standard%20deduction%20amounts%20for,%E2%80%93%20%2412%2C950%20(increase%20of%20%24400) https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/00/00_13_005.jsp#:~:te...
      - ratg13 4y ago
        They already do your taxes for you. This is how they know if your returns are off or not. The only difference is that in the rest of the world, they show you the calculation the government came up with first.
        Turing_Machine 4y ago
        > They already do your taxes for you. They have no way of knowing what all your business expenses are (especially ones that don't require sending the recipient one of the various Form 1099s). They can look at what you claim as business expenses and retroactively require you to show proof of those expenses (i.e., audit you) if they seem unreasonable, but that's an entirely different thing.
LatteLazy 4y ago
In the UK, less than 10% of the population even file a tax return. For 90% of people tax is just taken at source. Unless you have a small business, rent out properties or work abroad, HMRC already knows what you needed to pay and get's it right 99% of the time and your employer/pension provider just withholds as required. It's always baffled me that so many rich countries don't operate like this...
- gpderetta 4y ago
  I do my own taxes on the UK, it is not complicated, but it would be everything a billion time easier if all brokerage accounts [1]and banks had a simple way to get all transactions in a tax year in a single csv file instead if having to do a billion clicks and having to parse dozens of pdf files! Also can I have everything in a single unified gui? [1] especially those barebone accounts used for employee stock grants.
  - LatteLazy 4y ago
    That would be perfect. It would be so much better if they just sent you a form with a few numbers on. And the maths and format were the same irrespective of the firm. One from each of your brokers, add the numbers together, put onto tax return, submit and sleep soundly.
  - rgmerk 4y ago
    Heh. The thing I find astonishing about the UK is the sheer number of tax-advantaged savings schemes. Half a dozen different types of pensions. Several different types of ISAs (tax-advantaged savings accounts). And we haven’t even mentioned the wonderful world of offshore bonds…

In Portugal, if you are an employee or pensioner and have no other sources of income, the tax form is filled in automatically for you. Just confirm if you want, and hit 'send'.

pavlov 4y ago

This is the case in almost all European countries nowadays. The US tax and banking systems are so bad that it’s genuinely hard to understand from the Euro perspective.

paulryanrogers 4y ago
US system is difficult by design. Automation would make filing less painful, and one party dislikes taxes so prefers people feel the pain.
- lokar 4y ago
  The IRS could do a simple automatic return for the vast majority of Americans. Lobbying from intuit prevents it.
  - Turing_Machine 4y ago
    While Intuit and their friends do lobby, the US tax code was fiendishly complex long before Intuit was even a thing. "The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know when it's through, if you are a crook or a martyr." -- Will Rogers Will Rogers died in 1935.
    - lokar 4y ago
      But the majority of Americans have only w2 income and no deductions
      - 1123581321 4y ago
        Their taxes are easy, too. Just a handful of clicks through a free e-filing system. Most can also use a free in-person filing service (VITA.) Most of the thousands of hours you hear about comes from working through legitimate complexity (complicated assets, stock splits, self-employment, etc.) That’s not to say it wouldn’t be good to have more computing thrown at automating the rules for that complexity.
        Turing_Machine 4y ago
        Right. Even a paper 1040EZ doesn't take more than a few minutes... probably even less online.
        ghaff 4y ago
        The 1040EZ was eliminated I believe. But the same applies to the 1040 if you're just basically entering W2 info.
      - sidewndr46 4y ago
        If you're an American and have 0 deductions you're seriously incompetent as an adult. The standard deduction is available to almost all taxpayers and requires no evidence, documentation, or proof of any kind: https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/00/00_13_005.jsp#:~:text=The%20standard%20deduction%20amounts%20for,%E2%80%93%20%2412%2C950%20(increase%20of%20%24400) https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/00/00_13_005.jsp#:~:te...
    - ratg13 4y ago
      They already do your taxes for you. This is how they know if your returns are off or not. The only difference is that in the rest of the world, they show you the calculation the government came up with first.
      - Turing_Machine 4y ago
        > They already do your taxes for you. They have no way of knowing what all your business expenses are (especially ones that don't require sending the recipient one of the various Form 1099s). They can look at what you claim as business expenses and retroactively require you to show proof of those expenses (i.e., audit you) if they seem unreasonable, but that's an entirely different thing.

LatteLazy 4y ago

In the UK, less than 10% of the population even file a tax return. For 90% of people tax is just taken at source. Unless you have a small business, rent out properties or work abroad, HMRC already knows what you needed to pay and get's it right 99% of the time and your employer/pension provider just withholds as required. It's always baffled me that so many rich countries don't operate like this...

gpderetta 4y ago
I do my own taxes on the UK, it is not complicated, but it would be everything a billion time easier if all brokerage accounts [1]and banks had a simple way to get all transactions in a tax year in a single csv file instead if having to do a billion clicks and having to parse dozens of pdf files! Also can I have everything in a single unified gui? [1] especially those barebone accounts used for employee stock grants.
- LatteLazy 4y ago
  That would be perfect. It would be so much better if they just sent you a form with a few numbers on. And the maths and format were the same irrespective of the firm. One from each of your brokers, add the numbers together, put onto tax return, submit and sleep soundly.
- rgmerk 4y ago
  Heh. The thing I find astonishing about the UK is the sheer number of tax-advantaged savings schemes. Half a dozen different types of pensions. Several different types of ISAs (tax-advantaged savings accounts). And we haven’t even mentioned the wonderful world of offshore bonds…