3 ms·

If unicorns were real and rainbows were made by leprechauns, and congress passed a flat tax, I'd be all for dumping TurboTax. But as it stands, they provide a p

If unicorns were real and rainbows were made by leprechauns, and congress passed a flat tax, I'd be all for dumping TurboTax. But as it stands, they provide a pretty decent value to me. With 1099s, W2s, capital gains, multiple state returns, and god knows what else to account for, I seriously cannot imagine having to fill out my own tax forms. Plus they really do have (and have had consistently for years) some of the best UX of any product I've ever used. I don't mind paying those peoples' salaries.

8jy89hui 4y ago
As stated multiple times in the article, making taxes easier for the average person does not stop people with complicated taxes from getting help. My taxes are simple; my family’s taxes are simple; most of my friends taxes are simple. We don’t need Inutit making our taxes more complicated than they need to be. I’d rather have free simple filing be done with my government. I don’t need Intuit getting between me and my government. And if I ever have really complicated taxes, I’m sure TurboTax will still exist.
kadoban 4y ago
There should be no requirement to fill out any forms. The government should fill them out for you for your "okay" and only if there's issues should you have to do any more than that. The only reason that this isn't how it works is because these companies have bribed our representatives to avoid it.
- cuteboy19 4y ago
  This is something that the Indian government has done quite well. Although the website has had some growing pains (68 million filings is apparently not that easy to scale to) it is getting better and works exactly as you described. It even looks quite modern and not at all like a typical government website. Moreover they also created a parallel tax system that forgoes all the deductions for a slightly lower tax rate so it's very easy for simple filings to just hit the OK button.
- jacobsenscott 4y ago
  It isn't just turbotax - voting to adequately fund the IRS is political suicide anywhere but a handful of blue dots on a big red map.
  - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
    Which is ridiculous, because the IRS brings in $3 for every $1 of additional funding. It's the only government agency for which this is true. Keeping the IRS small and weak literally only helps extremely wealthy people dodge the taxes they owe.
    - cuteboy19 4y ago
      There is also a hazard in this line of thinking. The money that the IRS collects is owed only in the most legal of senses. In reality there is very little reason why any individual should forgo 30% of their income for not much benefit. Thinking of the IRS as a infinite money multiplier implies thinking of the people as a bottomless well of money. The answer is not to keep funding the IRS until this ratio comes to a saturation point, but to reduce taxation till this ratio reduces to a more sane number
      - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
        > there is very little reason why any individual should forgo 30% of their income for not much benefit You're right - extremely wealthy individuals should forgo 70%+ of their income for not much (individual) benefit.
      - kadoban 4y ago
        > In reality there is very little reason why any individual should forgo 30% of their income for not much benefit. Other than the benefit of having a functioning society, and some sort of semblance of a safety net.
rom-antics 4y ago
The people you're paying are the reason you have to fill out those forms in the first place. This is like saying you're happy to pay the mafia their protection money because it makes you feel safe.

8jy89hui 4y ago

As stated multiple times in the article, making taxes easier for the average person does not stop people with complicated taxes from getting help. My taxes are simple; my family’s taxes are simple; most of my friends taxes are simple. We don’t need Inutit making our taxes more complicated than they need to be. I’d rather have free simple filing be done with my government. I don’t need Intuit getting between me and my government. And if I ever have really complicated taxes, I’m sure TurboTax will still exist.

kadoban 4y ago

There should be no requirement to fill out any forms. The government should fill them out for you for your "okay" and only if there's issues should you have to do any more than that. The only reason that this isn't how it works is because these companies have bribed our representatives to avoid it.

cuteboy19 4y ago
This is something that the Indian government has done quite well. Although the website has had some growing pains (68 million filings is apparently not that easy to scale to) it is getting better and works exactly as you described. It even looks quite modern and not at all like a typical government website. Moreover they also created a parallel tax system that forgoes all the deductions for a slightly lower tax rate so it's very easy for simple filings to just hit the OK button.
jacobsenscott 4y ago
It isn't just turbotax - voting to adequately fund the IRS is political suicide anywhere but a handful of blue dots on a big red map.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
  Which is ridiculous, because the IRS brings in $3 for every $1 of additional funding. It's the only government agency for which this is true. Keeping the IRS small and weak literally only helps extremely wealthy people dodge the taxes they owe.
  - cuteboy19 4y ago
    There is also a hazard in this line of thinking. The money that the IRS collects is owed only in the most legal of senses. In reality there is very little reason why any individual should forgo 30% of their income for not much benefit. Thinking of the IRS as a infinite money multiplier implies thinking of the people as a bottomless well of money. The answer is not to keep funding the IRS until this ratio comes to a saturation point, but to reduce taxation till this ratio reduces to a more sane number
    - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
      > there is very little reason why any individual should forgo 30% of their income for not much benefit You're right - extremely wealthy individuals should forgo 70%+ of their income for not much (individual) benefit.
    - kadoban 4y ago
      > In reality there is very little reason why any individual should forgo 30% of their income for not much benefit. Other than the benefit of having a functioning society, and some sort of semblance of a safety net.

rom-antics 4y ago

The people you're paying are the reason you have to fill out those forms in the first place. This is like saying you're happy to pay the mafia their protection money because it makes you feel safe.