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> No one is forcing you to use it. No one is forcing me to use such a system today, but I was also assured that if I liked my doctor I could keep my doctor, an

> No one is forcing you to use it. No one is forcing me to use such a system today, but I was also assured that if I liked my doctor I could keep my doctor, and that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. You are naive if you think the government will act altruistically. > I do not because it won't be a black box anymore than your tax preparer is a black box How can you say that with any amount of certainty? Congress asked the IRS to conduct a feasibility study and instead they went and created a full blown system to accept and process tax returns, in violation of what they were statutorily required to do, spending millions beyond what they were legally authorized to. If they can't even do the study correctly and in good faith, what assurance does anyone have that they won't build a system that will be used to abuse taxpayers? If the government wants me to trust them, then they should act in a trustworthy manner. > I'm going to make a guess that you've never lived outside of the US. I'm going to make a guess that you've never studied history. > If it means that the lowest incomes now get their $1000 dollar credit and get to keep it, I think that's a lot of money for a lot of them. I too like it when poor people get money they're entitled to. But that doesn't mean we need to bend over backwards and give the IRS massive new powers to accomplish that goal. There are tradeoffs involved that need to be seriously considered when giving an agency that has consistently abused its power for at least a century more power in the service of that goal. [1] 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_allegations_of_misuse_of_the_Internal_Revenue_Service https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_allegations_of_misuse_...

hvb2 2mo ago
> You are naive if you think the government will act altruistically. It's funny how a large swath of America in their opinions has already given up on the concept of America. Government by the people, for the people? > How can you say that with any amount of certainty? Because direct file is just the messenger. If you don't understand what's in it, then who prepared it didn't matter does it? You put as much trust in you tax preparer as in direct file. The only way this is not true is when you actually review everything they've done, at which point you might have done it yourself. And let's be honest, with the US tax system, you need to be an expert to file anything nonstandard. > But that doesn't mean we need to bend over backwards and give the IRS massive new powers to accomplish that goal. They don't get new powers through this, it's just another option for filing. So with this being killed, you can sleep better at night and the lower income people will suffer as they can go back to being overcharged by tax preparers for filing the simplest of returns. I guess that sums up murica pretty well. > has consistently abused its power for at least a century more power in the service of that goal. [1] That's mostly presidents and their party abusing the executive branch, although it's all allegations. You must really like this current administration, really raising the bar on what retaliation is.
- letmehelpyou 1mo ago
  [flagged]
- MisterMower 1mo ago
  > large swath of America in their opinions has already given up on the concept of America The concept of America as defined in the Declaration of Independence was that it is the duty of the people to oppose tyrannical government action, but I agree with your point here, too many people, yourself included, have given up on that idea. > If you don't understand what's in it, then who prepared it didn't matter does it? Regardless of who prepared your return, it matters that it is correct. Because most people will not check their returns for accuracy, or in your cynical view are incapable of doing so, the incentives around how they are prepared matter. Giving the entity you owe taxes to the power to also complete your tax return is a massive conflict of interest. > They don't get new powers through this The IRS is literally telling you how much you should owe by completing your tax return for you, power they do not have, nor did the Inflation Reduction Act delegate to the them. I don’t know how else to say this so that you will understand it. What they did was illegal. > That's mostly presidents and their party abusing the executive branch, although it's all allegations. Which is it? The allegations are false? Or they’re real, but not the IRS’s fault, they were just acting corruptly on behalf of presidents of both parties for the past hundred years? And regardless, you think this warrants giving them more power? You are clearly not arguing in good faith here. > You must really like this current administration If you can’t imagine that powers granted to the government will eventually be used by people you dislike for purposes you disagree with then you really are ignorant of history. The solution is to not grant such powers in the first place. Your judgement is monumentally poor if you think granting the IRS these powers is worth saving taxpayers a few dollars and minutes per tax return. The inevitable abuse, orchestrated by future administrations against the very people these policies are intended to help, will vastly outweigh the supposed benefit they receive by making it easier to file their return. I have no love for this administration, but I’m not so blinded by hatred of it that I can’t recognize a good policy move when I see one.

hvb2 2mo ago

> You are naive if you think the government will act altruistically. It's funny how a large swath of America in their opinions has already given up on the concept of America. Government by the people, for the people? > How can you say that with any amount of certainty? Because direct file is just the messenger. If you don't understand what's in it, then who prepared it didn't matter does it? You put as much trust in you tax preparer as in direct file. The only way this is not true is when you actually review everything they've done, at which point you might have done it yourself. And let's be honest, with the US tax system, you need to be an expert to file anything nonstandard. > But that doesn't mean we need to bend over backwards and give the IRS massive new powers to accomplish that goal. They don't get new powers through this, it's just another option for filing. So with this being killed, you can sleep better at night and the lower income people will suffer as they can go back to being overcharged by tax preparers for filing the simplest of returns. I guess that sums up murica pretty well. > has consistently abused its power for at least a century more power in the service of that goal. [1] That's mostly presidents and their party abusing the executive branch, although it's all allegations. You must really like this current administration, really raising the bar on what retaliation is.

letmehelpyou 1mo ago
[flagged]
MisterMower 1mo ago
> large swath of America in their opinions has already given up on the concept of America The concept of America as defined in the Declaration of Independence was that it is the duty of the people to oppose tyrannical government action, but I agree with your point here, too many people, yourself included, have given up on that idea. > If you don't understand what's in it, then who prepared it didn't matter does it? Regardless of who prepared your return, it matters that it is correct. Because most people will not check their returns for accuracy, or in your cynical view are incapable of doing so, the incentives around how they are prepared matter. Giving the entity you owe taxes to the power to also complete your tax return is a massive conflict of interest. > They don't get new powers through this The IRS is literally telling you how much you should owe by completing your tax return for you, power they do not have, nor did the Inflation Reduction Act delegate to the them. I don’t know how else to say this so that you will understand it. What they did was illegal. > That's mostly presidents and their party abusing the executive branch, although it's all allegations. Which is it? The allegations are false? Or they’re real, but not the IRS’s fault, they were just acting corruptly on behalf of presidents of both parties for the past hundred years? And regardless, you think this warrants giving them more power? You are clearly not arguing in good faith here. > You must really like this current administration If you can’t imagine that powers granted to the government will eventually be used by people you dislike for purposes you disagree with then you really are ignorant of history. The solution is to not grant such powers in the first place. Your judgement is monumentally poor if you think granting the IRS these powers is worth saving taxpayers a few dollars and minutes per tax return. The inevitable abuse, orchestrated by future administrations against the very people these policies are intended to help, will vastly outweigh the supposed benefit they receive by making it easier to file their return. I have no love for this administration, but I’m not so blinded by hatred of it that I can’t recognize a good policy move when I see one.