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It's a shame ReadyReturn[1] is so nerfed (due to intense lobbying from Intuit) - as otherwise it'd be pretty great. 1: https://www.ftb.ca.gov/readyreturn/ http
by gergles 13y ago
It's a shame ReadyReturn[1] is so nerfed (due to intense lobbying from Intuit) - as otherwise it'd be pretty great.
1: https://www.ftb.ca.gov/readyreturn/ https://www.ftb.ca.gov/readyreturn/
A federally-based solution for this would be ideal; the government is already well-aware of the relevant data. The only reason we have to do any work at all is because of the bizarre vagaries and loopholes of the tax code (and the gigantic amount of lobbying from the 'tax prep industry').
- idle_processor 13y agoCan you please elaborate a bit on the imposed constraints that nerf it?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- 1wheel 13y ago> Joseph Bankman, a Stanford Law School professor who helped design ReadyReturn, says he spent close to $30,000 of his own money to hire a lobbyist to defend the program in the legislature. Intuit made political contributions to scores of legislative candidates, Bankman said, and gave $1 million in 2006 to a group backing a ReadyReturn opponent for state controller. > ReadyReturn survived, but with essentially no marketing budget it is not widely known. Fewer than 90,000 California taxpayers used it last year – although those who do use it seem to be happy. Ninety-eight percent of users who filled out a survey said they would use it again. http://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-maker-of-turbotax-fought-free-simple-tax-filing http://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-maker-of-turbotax-...
- Jtsummers 13y agohttp://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/21/opinion/la-oe-ventry-intuit-20100721 http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/21/opinion/la-oe-ventry... - an op-ed from 2010 http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/intuit-turbotax-fought-free-simple-tax-filing http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/intuit-turbotax-... - another, more recent, report. Intuit's lobbying is intended (it seems) to reduce funding to the program and replace it with their own variation. Not in CA so this whole thing is news to me, otherwise I'd probably have been paying attention to the details (like I did when Time-Warner-bought legislators were screwing over city-owned broadband in NC).
- tannewt 13y agoThere is some information on the Free File Alliance and their restrictive agreements with the IRS here: http://www.irs.gov/uac/About-the-Free-File-Alliance http://www.irs.gov/uac/About-the-Free-File-Alliance It would be cool if someone not associate with the FFA would create a tax prep site. The IRS APIs and standards are here: http://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/e-File-Providers-&-Partners http://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/e-File-Providers-&-Part...