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> 1. It would not, the tax law remains the spec. Unless you rewrite the law to make the code the spec. Indeed, code is probably a better medium for unambiguous
by nextaccountic 4y ago
> 1. It would not, the tax law remains the spec.
Unless you rewrite the law to make the code the spec. Indeed, code is probably a better medium for unambiguously communicating calculations.
> 2. France does provide an executable encoding of the tax code, TFA is literally a compiler for that.
But other countries might not do so.
> 4. You can use OpenFisca to encode your own country's tax law, or lobby for your country to encode its tax law there (https://openfisca.org/en/packages/ https://openfisca.org/en/packages/).
This would be amazing!
- noughtme 4y ago> Indeed, code is probably a better medium for unambiguously communicating calculations. Ambiguity and obfuscation are usually intentional. Legislators and individual citizens do not necessarily have the same interests. This is why omnibus bills exist.
- astrange 4y agoLaws (in the US anyway) are "ambiguous" because they can't be changed very often, so implementing regulations are left to the executive branch, and the judicial branch can edit either one however they feel like anyway and aren't programmers.
- quartesixte 4y agoYeah I think the slight nuance that some people miss is that many of the regulations in place are interpretations and implementations of more ambiguous laws. And they are updated quite frequently and implemented quite programmatically! But the laws also remain ambiguous because the world is an ambiguous place with a lot of edge and corner cases with unforeseen knock on effects.
- bee_rider 4y agoDefinitely agree. Having lawmakers micromanage everything would be a pain. That said, one would hope 1) the tax code would be one of the least open-to-creative-interpretation parts of the system 2) the IRS equivalent could actually produce this code, rather than legislators
- astrange 4y agoI think the US actually has the preferable solution, which is that it's not a crime to do your taxes wrong. (Most people think it is.)