35 points

The answer of course is that the IRS doesn’t know how much you owe, and it isn’t feasible for them for figure out exact numbers for everyone with the tax code as complicated as it is. So, they audit a fraction of Americans every year to keep everyone honest. It’s a bad system that taxes are so complicated but it’s not a conspiracy.

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53 points
36 points

Except the federal government literally this year started instituting a free, public filling service to get around TurboTax. And they fought it tooth and nail.

There is a conspiracy, but it’s not a federal government conspiracy. It’s just a bad system that certain companies conspired to take advantage of.

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3 points

It is engineered the way that it is to provide loopholes for rich people.

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19 points

I mean, the tax system is so bad because tax preparers like Intuit bribe politicians to keep it that way.

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2 points

He only knows because your employer ratted you out

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6 points

Your employer doesn’t know all your sources of income if you have independent stuff going on.

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-4 points

If you have taxes witheld the will know. Only way to avoid that is through contract labor cash only

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2 points

What? No. They only know the amount you asked them to withhold, and that could get you in trouble if you specify dependents then tell everyone you don’t have any or something. Also if someone is living in your house, making less than 4700 for the entire year, they can be claimed as a dependent, which means you don’t even have to have kids. How would your work even know?

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17 points

This year I think the IRS is rolling our free preparation (federal, some states offer it to I think).

Go check it out.

But yeah this could all be automated. Just another cigarette in your eye for daring to exist in the conservative fascist multiverse.

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2 points
*

They are! I qualified for free federal and state - admittedly, I have very simple taxes - and it was easy and fast. Even got my refund in under the estimated time!

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8 points
*

I looked into this. I didn’t qualify due to having an HSA.

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4 points

Yeah this year it seems there’s a lot of restrictions. I’m hoping next year it will be accessible to more people

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19 points

because they won’t tell you about the loop holes and exceptions you could be taking advantage of.

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yep. They won’t tell us if we payed them too much, they’ll only tell us if we didn’t pay them enough 😡

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2 points

A few years back in Massachusetts actually, the taxpayers hit an annual threshold cap and the state had to refund some of the money to those who filed.

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56 points

“Listen bub, I’m just telling you what Intuit and H&R block pays me to tell you. So yeah, I both know and don’t know what you owe. Let’s call it Schrodinger’s taxes and call it a day.”

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4 points

You don’t know what we know about what you owe.

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Funny

!funny@sh.itjust.works

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