3 ms·

Lets see, the US has a big election next year, early fund raising ? Since the Citizens United Ruling, political bribes are now legal in the US. I believe this

by jmclnx 3y ago

Lets see, the US has a big election next year, early fund raising ? Since the Citizens United Ruling, political bribes are now legal in the US. I believe this system will only support the easiest of tax forms, the type any idiot can fill out. Have one of these: 401k, pretax medical/college accounts, stock dividends, non-US interest, income other then wages from commercial for-profit companies, you will be SOL. And I am sure many people can add to the list of these items. These are the items that make Tax Accountants the real money.

Spoom 3y ago
Nearly everything you mentioned automatically files paperwork with the IRS anyway. I'm not sure why you think that they could not be part of a pre-filled return.
- Volundr 3y ago
  I feel like this is a point that gets overlooked in the discussion. The IRS ALREADY has software that does your taxes. It's just that currently it's used to validate you did it correctly and they aren't going to tell you the results unless you did it wrong. Sure building this system isn't going to be as easy as "give our existing software a public URL", but there should be a lot of code reuse happening.
- e40 3y ago
  It's pretty clear why they think this, due to lobbying. I think everyone agrees none of those items should be grounds for not using this theoretical system.
lowercased 3y ago
I share some skepticism, but I suspect some basic stuff may be supported (out of the gate or soon) - IRA/401k info may not be too difficult, at least with data from major players (vanguard/fidelity/etc). I bought and sold two houses, moved between states, and our family had two businesses as well as W2 income - all this over an 18 month period. I went to an HR Block ('big name, offices in multiple states, etc') and they made a lot of mistakes, took about 2 years to unwind the mess.
Analemma_ 3y ago
Brokerages and banks already send the IRS your info about 401k plans, HSA/529/etc. accounts, and stock dividends/sales. Most (not all, but most) 1099 employers send the IRS your 1099 as well. Filling these out yourself is a pointless formality and duplicated work in exactly the same way that filling out your own W-2 is. Government-prepared returns won't cover everybody, but they will cover a much larger share of the population than you're assuming. At an offhand guess, I'd say maybe 90% of people will be just fine.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> political bribes are now legal in the US No, they're not. Citizens was problematic. But it says nothing about bribes, whether that be handing a politician cash or promising them a job. Mischaracterizing it sucks the oxygen out of the room for the cause of reform.
- m348e912 3y ago
  >Citizens was problematic. But it says nothing about bribes Kind of disagree. In 2016 Sheldon Adelson (a now deceased wealthy casino mogul) donated $25 million to the Super Pac "Future 45". The Pac's main objective was to run advertising against Hillary Clinton. To say that Sheldon didn't have influence on Trump akin to bribery is naive. Fun fact, Sheldon's contributions is one of the main reasons the US Embassy in Israel is now in Jerusalem and not Tel Aviv. (Just a minor example) Unlimited corporate donations (as a result of the CU decision) and superpacs have been the most significant influence on American politics of this generation.
  - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
    > To say that Sheldon didn't have influence on Trump akin to bribery is naive Influence can definitely be bought. But trading influence isn’t bribery. What Adelson did is closer to a manufacturer opening plants in a swing state—despite higher costs—to curry favour with its senators than sticking wads of bills in their pockets. It’s definitely not the same. That’s the problem. But it’s a far cry from wiring Trump money in exchange for an executive order. Blurring the line between bribery, lobbying and campaign financing not only sucks the sail out of campaign finance and lobbying reform. It also destigmatises actual bribery.
    - m348e912 3y ago
      You might have to get out the crayons and explain the difference. They seem one in the same to me.
      - JumpCrisscross 3y ago
JohnFen 3y ago
> I believe this system will only support the easiest of tax forms, the type any idiot can fill out. Which is fine. That would be a huge win.

by jmclnx 3y ago

Spoom 3y ago

Nearly everything you mentioned automatically files paperwork with the IRS anyway. I'm not sure why you think that they could not be part of a pre-filled return.

Volundr 3y ago
I feel like this is a point that gets overlooked in the discussion. The IRS ALREADY has software that does your taxes. It's just that currently it's used to validate you did it correctly and they aren't going to tell you the results unless you did it wrong. Sure building this system isn't going to be as easy as "give our existing software a public URL", but there should be a lot of code reuse happening.
e40 3y ago
It's pretty clear why they think this, due to lobbying. I think everyone agrees none of those items should be grounds for not using this theoretical system.

lowercased 3y ago

I share some skepticism, but I suspect some basic stuff may be supported (out of the gate or soon) - IRA/401k info may not be too difficult, at least with data from major players (vanguard/fidelity/etc). I bought and sold two houses, moved between states, and our family had two businesses as well as W2 income - all this over an 18 month period. I went to an HR Block ('big name, offices in multiple states, etc') and they made a lot of mistakes, took about 2 years to unwind the mess.

Analemma_ 3y ago

Brokerages and banks already send the IRS your info about 401k plans, HSA/529/etc. accounts, and stock dividends/sales. Most (not all, but most) 1099 employers send the IRS your 1099 as well. Filling these out yourself is a pointless formality and duplicated work in exactly the same way that filling out your own W-2 is. Government-prepared returns won't cover everybody, but they will cover a much larger share of the population than you're assuming. At an offhand guess, I'd say maybe 90% of people will be just fine.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> political bribes are now legal in the US No, they're not. Citizens was problematic. But it says nothing about bribes, whether that be handing a politician cash or promising them a job. Mischaracterizing it sucks the oxygen out of the room for the cause of reform.

m348e912 3y ago
>Citizens was problematic. But it says nothing about bribes Kind of disagree. In 2016 Sheldon Adelson (a now deceased wealthy casino mogul) donated $25 million to the Super Pac "Future 45". The Pac's main objective was to run advertising against Hillary Clinton. To say that Sheldon didn't have influence on Trump akin to bribery is naive. Fun fact, Sheldon's contributions is one of the main reasons the US Embassy in Israel is now in Jerusalem and not Tel Aviv. (Just a minor example) Unlimited corporate donations (as a result of the CU decision) and superpacs have been the most significant influence on American politics of this generation.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > To say that Sheldon didn't have influence on Trump akin to bribery is naive Influence can definitely be bought. But trading influence isn’t bribery. What Adelson did is closer to a manufacturer opening plants in a swing state—despite higher costs—to curry favour with its senators than sticking wads of bills in their pockets. It’s definitely not the same. That’s the problem. But it’s a far cry from wiring Trump money in exchange for an executive order. Blurring the line between bribery, lobbying and campaign financing not only sucks the sail out of campaign finance and lobbying reform. It also destigmatises actual bribery.
  - m348e912 3y ago
    You might have to get out the crayons and explain the difference. They seem one in the same to me.
    - JumpCrisscross 3y ago

JohnFen 3y ago

> I believe this system will only support the easiest of tax forms, the type any idiot can fill out. Which is fine. That would be a huge win.