3 ms·

I'll do you one better, maybe two better... Why can my bank and credit card vendors tell me "up to the second" the status of my account. I use a credit car

I'll do you one better, maybe two better... Why can my bank and credit card vendors tell me "up to the second" the status of my account. I use a credit card and get an alert on my Apple Watch. The IRS could have an app that shows it in real time (say up to the day) how much tax you've paid and if they think you'll owe more or get a refund based upon what they know at that point and time and what they know from last year. Second, why do I need to give my employer my SSN and several forms of ID? Couldn't I share some sort of token that the IRS could give them with my name and maybe a picture and all the instructions embedded on how to withhold, how much to withhold, etc. Maybe it could be a unique identifier per job. I get a picture id but they shouldn't need my SSN. It can't quite be just an opaque QR code but it could be something pretty similar.

godelski 3y ago
Maybe this comment can spur several startup ideas. Why is it that we can have highly advanced AI, phones, and monitoring systems but so much of what we do is as if we're living before the internet? Obviously politics (not just a left/right divide, but even at local and budget levels) plays a role. But let's be real, street lights (and cross walk) should be algorithmic and sensor driven, stores should have trivially developed web interfaces (AI can help this just from SAM), SSN being used for identification but also not (and being terrible at it), and so much more. This is literally every industry and ESPECIALLY anything that the government does. I don't want to hear voting online, but please talk to me about DMV online (not literally to me). These things aren't flashy, and maybe that's the problem, but I hate living in both the 22nd century and the 17th at the same time (exaggeration).
- TheCondor 3y ago
  That's my wish. I'd think the 70% or whatever the number is that takes the standard deduction could be satisfied with a fairly simple app. Businesses, certain business principals, individuals with higher incomes have more complicated taxes but I would think there could be some standard patterns. I also think that most families not in that 70% (or whatever the number is) probably have fairly similar taxes 3 out of 5 years or 4 out of 5 years. If not, maybe there are some loop holes we should look at or some alterations to the tax code to allow for this. Quick books and peach tree and do an awful lot for a lot of businesses, I know it can be done...
ac29 3y ago
> Second, why do I need to give my employer my SSN and several forms of ID? This is almost certainly an immigration thing, not a tax thing. From I-9 is required to be completed by all employers. See: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9-paper-version.pdf https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9...
- TheCondor 3y ago
  Yeah, I think I know the reasons, or at least some of them. That particular idea might be a little bit more subversive but why does an employer need to care? Immigrant or natural born citizen, they should have some sort of tax paying relationship with the US federal government. The southern boarder is being used mostly just for politics right now, but if we wanted to curb illegal immigration I think a big part of it would be some sort of "you're here now" stamp, some sort of criminal penalties for hiring undocumented non-residents, maybe mandatory tax withholding for everybody and then some sort of "you're allowed to work here" token from the feds.
  - prottog 3y ago
    > why does an employer need to care? The IRS certainly doesn't care whether you're working legally or illegally, as long as they get their share. The employer is mandated to care by immigration law, since it's against the law to hire someone who is not authorized to work in the US. > we wanted to curb illegal immigration ... some sort of criminal penalties for hiring undocumented non-residents This would certainly make a big impact. > then some sort of "you're allowed to work here" token from the feds It's called an Employement Authorization Document or EAD, issued by USCIS.

godelski 3y ago

Maybe this comment can spur several startup ideas. Why is it that we can have highly advanced AI, phones, and monitoring systems but so much of what we do is as if we're living before the internet? Obviously politics (not just a left/right divide, but even at local and budget levels) plays a role. But let's be real, street lights (and cross walk) should be algorithmic and sensor driven, stores should have trivially developed web interfaces (AI can help this just from SAM), SSN being used for identification but also not (and being terrible at it), and so much more. This is literally every industry and ESPECIALLY anything that the government does. I don't want to hear voting online, but please talk to me about DMV online (not literally to me). These things aren't flashy, and maybe that's the problem, but I hate living in both the 22nd century and the 17th at the same time (exaggeration).

TheCondor 3y ago
That's my wish. I'd think the 70% or whatever the number is that takes the standard deduction could be satisfied with a fairly simple app. Businesses, certain business principals, individuals with higher incomes have more complicated taxes but I would think there could be some standard patterns. I also think that most families not in that 70% (or whatever the number is) probably have fairly similar taxes 3 out of 5 years or 4 out of 5 years. If not, maybe there are some loop holes we should look at or some alterations to the tax code to allow for this. Quick books and peach tree and do an awful lot for a lot of businesses, I know it can be done...

ac29 3y ago

> Second, why do I need to give my employer my SSN and several forms of ID? This is almost certainly an immigration thing, not a tax thing. From I-9 is required to be completed by all employers. See: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9-paper-version.pdf https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9...

TheCondor 3y ago
Yeah, I think I know the reasons, or at least some of them. That particular idea might be a little bit more subversive but why does an employer need to care? Immigrant or natural born citizen, they should have some sort of tax paying relationship with the US federal government. The southern boarder is being used mostly just for politics right now, but if we wanted to curb illegal immigration I think a big part of it would be some sort of "you're here now" stamp, some sort of criminal penalties for hiring undocumented non-residents, maybe mandatory tax withholding for everybody and then some sort of "you're allowed to work here" token from the feds.
- prottog 3y ago
  > why does an employer need to care? The IRS certainly doesn't care whether you're working legally or illegally, as long as they get their share. The employer is mandated to care by immigration law, since it's against the law to hire someone who is not authorized to work in the US. > we wanted to curb illegal immigration ... some sort of criminal penalties for hiring undocumented non-residents This would certainly make a big impact. > then some sort of "you're allowed to work here" token from the feds It's called an Employement Authorization Document or EAD, issued by USCIS.