Maybe once they tackle this they can figure out a way to just send me a fucking bill every year instead of forcing me to do their work to then send them money.
They’ve actually been trying to do this for years. There were actually a couple years of tests out in California I think. However, there are two big lobbies that always put a halt to it, tax preparation services (H&R Block, Intuit, etc.) and groups that want taxes to be a pain in the ass so we’ll all bitch about them.
Check out this episode of Planet Money if you want to learn more:
TLDR: Our government is for sale and two corporations apparently give instructions to the entire IRS and tax system because they pay a “subscription fee” to our politicians.
I’ve been using the Cash App one and it’s totally free. It was formerly Credit Karma’s before TurboTax bought them and they were forced to divest the free tax program. I usually will run the same numbers through TurboTax and the results end up being the same.
I think they already do in a sense; that’s the standard deduction. If you want to maximize your returns you might be better off itemizing though, and that option is what makes everything complicated (I suspect they’d have a hard time sending you a bill for everything you itemize… I don’t know that they really know everything you could itemize; I think that really only comes up when it’s suspicious/you get audited).
i.e., if they did that, you’d basically get fewer options, and maybe less money back(?)
Several countries have already figured this out, ot isn’t rocket surgery. The government has a pretty good idea what you owe, and send you a bill. If you want to take another route, you’re free to submit your own taxes, but the vast majority don’t need to do anything like that. There’s no reason we couldn’t use the same system, if it assumes standard deduction that would cover the vast majority of people. Anyone who wants to itemize would be free to, it just wouldn’t be automatic, so essentially, nothing would change for them. Well, almost nothing, the difference is if they take too long they have a safety net standard deduction already filed and done I guess.
87% of people take the standard deduction. Just give people a bill (or I dunno, take out the correct amount to begin with) and allow people to contest or do an itemized deduction if they disagree.
Even when you take the standard deduction, only had one job in one state for the tax year, and have no investments or other income (ie. the only way your taxes could be simpler is if you don’t have any income and someone else pays all your bills), it’s still complicated to file taxes manually. Many other developed countries will automatically calculate the most common scenarios for most taxpayers, and only people with unusual situations have to do any manual calculations (or pay a tax preparer).
Maybe once they tackle this they can figure out a way to just send me a fucking bill every year instead of forcing me to do their work to then send them money.
They’ve actually been trying to do this for years. There were actually a couple years of tests out in California I think. However, there are two big lobbies that always put a halt to it, tax preparation services (H&R Block, Intuit, etc.) and groups that want taxes to be a pain in the ass so we’ll all bitch about them.
Check out this episode of Planet Money if you want to learn more:
Planet Money - Tax Hero
TLDR: Our government is for sale and two corporations apparently give instructions to the entire IRS and tax system because they pay a “subscription fee” to our politicians.
All as designed by the supreme court.
.
Pro tip: use Taxslayer
I love them. Much better than Turbohax
I’ve been using the Cash App one and it’s totally free. It was formerly Credit Karma’s before TurboTax bought them and they were forced to divest the free tax program. I usually will run the same numbers through TurboTax and the results end up being the same.
Anything but the big guys
They already know how, it’s been blocked as far as i’m aware by Tax return companies.
I think they already do in a sense; that’s the standard deduction. If you want to maximize your returns you might be better off itemizing though, and that option is what makes everything complicated (I suspect they’d have a hard time sending you a bill for everything you itemize… I don’t know that they really know everything you could itemize; I think that really only comes up when it’s suspicious/you get audited).
i.e., if they did that, you’d basically get fewer options, and maybe less money back(?)
Several countries have already figured this out, ot isn’t rocket surgery. The government has a pretty good idea what you owe, and send you a bill. If you want to take another route, you’re free to submit your own taxes, but the vast majority don’t need to do anything like that. There’s no reason we couldn’t use the same system, if it assumes standard deduction that would cover the vast majority of people. Anyone who wants to itemize would be free to, it just wouldn’t be automatic, so essentially, nothing would change for them. Well, almost nothing, the difference is if they take too long they have a safety net standard deduction already filed and done I guess.
87% of people take the standard deduction. Just give people a bill (or I dunno, take out the correct amount to begin with) and allow people to contest or do an itemized deduction if they disagree.
Even when you take the standard deduction, only had one job in one state for the tax year, and have no investments or other income (ie. the only way your taxes could be simpler is if you don’t have any income and someone else pays all your bills), it’s still complicated to file taxes manually. Many other developed countries will automatically calculate the most common scenarios for most taxpayers, and only people with unusual situations have to do any manual calculations (or pay a tax preparer).
https://youtu.be/Vu3T4ZXzOyw
He explains it a little better