3 ms·

Having something this awesome in the U.S. would cut out so many billions of dollars of profit that there is zero chance of it ever being implemented in my lifet

Having something this awesome in the U.S. would cut out so many billions of dollars of profit that there is zero chance of it ever being implemented in my lifetime. In the U.S. the purpose of government and regulations are to make it easier for entrenched companies to make a buck. Unfortunately for the citizenry just about all the low hanging fruit in terms of providing a government service to make lives easier and/or less costly have entrenched businesses siphoning money from people.

a_wild_dandan 3y ago
My favorite example being tax season: The fun mini-game wherein the government knows what you owe, but makes you guess anyway, and guessing wrong could get you in trouble. So we pay experts to make better guesses for us. And some of us know about an Easter egg that might unlock a free guess. It's a delightful game.
- OkayPhysicist 3y ago
  The government only knows some of the information for your taxes. Now, it would be a massive improvement if the government just came up with a number based on your 1099s and W-2s and sent you a bill with "Did we miss anything?", but it's not fair to say the IRS knows exactly how much you owe.
  - brewdad 3y ago
    For the overwhelming majority of Americans, W2 and 1099 forms capture all of their income for the year. Yes, some small percentage (less than 20% ??) will have other adjustments to make but that’s why other countries have you verify their info.
  - atahanacar 3y ago
    Here, if you are a salaried worker, your employer handles the taxes and the mandatory public insurance. When talking about wages, it is always post-tax. Good part is, you don't have to waste time or effort on your taxes, bad part (or good depending on who you are) is, nobody thinks about taxes so they don't know the absurd amount of money they pay the government every month. If you are self-employed, all you have to do is do the regular tax bracket income tax calculation on your net income (total income - work expenses) and add the fixed mandatory health insurance cost. It is very easy and can be done through e-Devlet or your bank's mobile app/website but many people just hire an accountant because mistakes can be costlier than the minuscule cost of hiring one. Another alternative is to get all your payments through a payment processor that handles taxes for you, which is the go-to option for side hustles. If you are an employer, you do the same as above, but for yourself and all your employees. For all the other extra taxes (car ownership etc.) you are notified if you owe anything and the payment is again as easy as online banking or e-Devlet. I've never heard anyone complain about the process of paying taxes. The absurd amount of taxes on the other hand...
  - ilyt 3y ago
    Here in Poland you basically get the form with the numbers, add whatever else you need deducted and that's it. That if you're salaried worker, all is handled between your employer and tax office.

a_wild_dandan 3y ago

My favorite example being tax season: The fun mini-game wherein the government knows what you owe, but makes you guess anyway, and guessing wrong could get you in trouble. So we pay experts to make better guesses for us. And some of us know about an Easter egg that might unlock a free guess. It's a delightful game.

OkayPhysicist 3y ago
The government only knows some of the information for your taxes. Now, it would be a massive improvement if the government just came up with a number based on your 1099s and W-2s and sent you a bill with "Did we miss anything?", but it's not fair to say the IRS knows exactly how much you owe.
- brewdad 3y ago
  For the overwhelming majority of Americans, W2 and 1099 forms capture all of their income for the year. Yes, some small percentage (less than 20% ??) will have other adjustments to make but that’s why other countries have you verify their info.
- atahanacar 3y ago
  Here, if you are a salaried worker, your employer handles the taxes and the mandatory public insurance. When talking about wages, it is always post-tax. Good part is, you don't have to waste time or effort on your taxes, bad part (or good depending on who you are) is, nobody thinks about taxes so they don't know the absurd amount of money they pay the government every month. If you are self-employed, all you have to do is do the regular tax bracket income tax calculation on your net income (total income - work expenses) and add the fixed mandatory health insurance cost. It is very easy and can be done through e-Devlet or your bank's mobile app/website but many people just hire an accountant because mistakes can be costlier than the minuscule cost of hiring one. Another alternative is to get all your payments through a payment processor that handles taxes for you, which is the go-to option for side hustles. If you are an employer, you do the same as above, but for yourself and all your employees. For all the other extra taxes (car ownership etc.) you are notified if you owe anything and the payment is again as easy as online banking or e-Devlet. I've never heard anyone complain about the process of paying taxes. The absurd amount of taxes on the other hand...
- ilyt 3y ago
  Here in Poland you basically get the form with the numbers, add whatever else you need deducted and that's it. That if you're salaried worker, all is handled between your employer and tax office.