3 ms·

I wouldn’t be surprised if RMS said “I don’t file tax returns, because I would have to either (a) use nonfree online filing software, (b) use nonfree PDF techno

I wouldn’t be surprised if RMS said “I don’t file tax returns, because I would have to either (a) use nonfree online filing software, (b) use nonfree PDF technologies (since the US Form 1040 features XFA forms, and Wikipedia says the are nonfree [0]), or (c) hire an accountant, but they would also be using nonfree software, and the IRS is using proprietary software to process the tax returns anyway, so therefore I am not filing them”. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XFA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XFA

eesmith 4y ago
The link I gave described that exact topic. Stallman wrote: "I do not submit my tax returns on line because it requires nonfree software. I use xournal to write my data on the PDF form, and print that. As I have no printer, I will visit a copying store to do the printing." Note that the copying store will be using a printer with nonfree software. Thus, your (a) is correct, your (b) appears to be incorrect as Stallman was doing this 3 years ago, and your (c) is incorrect as Stallman doesn't have that objection. We futher know (c) is incorrect because Stallman at https://stallman.org/rms-lifestyle.html https://stallman.org/rms-lifestyle.html write that he will use someone else's cell phone, even though it it not free. Regarding (b), I can't tell if the 1040 at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf uses XFA forms ("deprecated in PDF 2.0", in 2017), but it appears to work in Firefox, which I believe is using free software. Even if it does, you can order the forms at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/forms-and-publications-by-us-mail https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/forms-and-publications-by-us-... or visit a post office or library (see https://www.irs.com/en/articles/local-irs-tax-forms https://www.irs.com/en/articles/local-irs-tax-forms ). These do not require using software, so I don't see why you conclude that Stallman would have a free software objection to filing taxes at all.
- Kwpolska 4y ago
  When you open the form linked, SumatraPDF will warn that “The document uses unsupported features (XFA) and might not render properly”, and it cannot fill out the form. Perhaps it’s not XFA specifically, but some other strange technology. I did see that note about how Stallman does his taxes. But if Stallman has a sectarian objection to basic things like using a cell phone, or to even more basic non-tech things like personal hygiene, an objection to taxes wouldn’t seem far-fetched to me.
  - eesmith 4y ago
    FWIW, https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/sumatrapdf/issues/1249 https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/sumatrapdf/issues/1249 ("Support form filling for at least 1040 irs form") has a comment saying "MuPDF-GL has the capability to edit fields and save the PDF" of a 1040. I have just learned the Firefox 93 added support XFA - https://techdows.com/2021/10/open-xfa-pdfs-in-firefox.html https://techdows.com/2021/10/open-xfa-pdfs-in-firefox.html . So it would appear there are free software solutions to XFA forms. Just because something doesn't seem far-fetched to you, doesn't mean most people will regard it as far-fetched. Many people all sorts of "sectarian objections" - far more than there are SovCits or other tax protesters. Stallman has never come across as a tax protester. Ergo, I think it's far-fetched that "sectarian objections" is strongly associated with tax protests. Further, at https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html we can read Stallman opinine that we need to "return to the "bad old days", when Americans in general could have a decent life, not penury; when the US could afford to build what the public needed instead of privatizing everything with a toll" by making taxation more progressive. At https://stallman.org/archives/2011-jan-apr.html https://stallman.org/archives/2011-jan-apr.html we read he supports "The Fairness in Taxation Act [which] would raise taxes to 45% on incomes over a million dollars a year."
  - grapesurgeon 4y ago
    [dead]

eesmith 4y ago

The link I gave described that exact topic. Stallman wrote: "I do not submit my tax returns on line because it requires nonfree software. I use xournal to write my data on the PDF form, and print that. As I have no printer, I will visit a copying store to do the printing." Note that the copying store will be using a printer with nonfree software. Thus, your (a) is correct, your (b) appears to be incorrect as Stallman was doing this 3 years ago, and your (c) is incorrect as Stallman doesn't have that objection. We futher know (c) is incorrect because Stallman at https://stallman.org/rms-lifestyle.html https://stallman.org/rms-lifestyle.html write that he will use someone else's cell phone, even though it it not free. Regarding (b), I can't tell if the 1040 at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf uses XFA forms ("deprecated in PDF 2.0", in 2017), but it appears to work in Firefox, which I believe is using free software. Even if it does, you can order the forms at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/forms-and-publications-by-us-mail https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/forms-and-publications-by-us-... or visit a post office or library (see https://www.irs.com/en/articles/local-irs-tax-forms https://www.irs.com/en/articles/local-irs-tax-forms ). These do not require using software, so I don't see why you conclude that Stallman would have a free software objection to filing taxes at all.

Kwpolska 4y ago
When you open the form linked, SumatraPDF will warn that “The document uses unsupported features (XFA) and might not render properly”, and it cannot fill out the form. Perhaps it’s not XFA specifically, but some other strange technology. I did see that note about how Stallman does his taxes. But if Stallman has a sectarian objection to basic things like using a cell phone, or to even more basic non-tech things like personal hygiene, an objection to taxes wouldn’t seem far-fetched to me.
- eesmith 4y ago
  FWIW, https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/sumatrapdf/issues/1249 https://github.com/sumatrapdfreader/sumatrapdf/issues/1249 ("Support form filling for at least 1040 irs form") has a comment saying "MuPDF-GL has the capability to edit fields and save the PDF" of a 1040. I have just learned the Firefox 93 added support XFA - https://techdows.com/2021/10/open-xfa-pdfs-in-firefox.html https://techdows.com/2021/10/open-xfa-pdfs-in-firefox.html . So it would appear there are free software solutions to XFA forms. Just because something doesn't seem far-fetched to you, doesn't mean most people will regard it as far-fetched. Many people all sorts of "sectarian objections" - far more than there are SovCits or other tax protesters. Stallman has never come across as a tax protester. Ergo, I think it's far-fetched that "sectarian objections" is strongly associated with tax protests. Further, at https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html https://stallman.org/archives/2017-may-aug.html we can read Stallman opinine that we need to "return to the "bad old days", when Americans in general could have a decent life, not penury; when the US could afford to build what the public needed instead of privatizing everything with a toll" by making taxation more progressive. At https://stallman.org/archives/2011-jan-apr.html https://stallman.org/archives/2011-jan-apr.html we read he supports "The Fairness in Taxation Act [which] would raise taxes to 45% on incomes over a million dollars a year."
- grapesurgeon 4y ago
  [dead]