cross-posted from: https://yall.theatl.social/post/2382939
It should be super simple… We have all the math to make it happen, just take the correct amount out of people’s checks and leave them the fuck alone.
Don’t put your hand in my pocket 26 times in a year then come to me at the end and go “(Blush), sorry, I took too much/too little.”
Take the right amount, leave me the fuck alone.
Thank companies like TurboTax and HR Block. They’re the ones who make it hard.
You can thank the politicians that TurboTax and H&R Block bought. They aren’t innocent here.
It’s a little more complicated because of itemization.
The standard deduction should be pretty simple. For people that give a bunch of money to accountants … you’re probably better off just taking the standard deduction anyways. But eh maybe not.
In theory itemization is a good option, it does save me some money, and there’s very little way for the government to know that I e.g. donated to X and that reduces my tax burden by Z. My neighbor tells me back in the day you could itemize a lot more stuff, but those days are gone.
Definitely support the IRS providing some free tax filling software at the very least. There’s really no reason electronically filing should cost all the money it does to go through e.g. TurboTax and scare you with the up selling to protect you from audits or XYZ thing.
just take the correct amount out of people’s checks and leave them the fuck alone.
Isn’t this how it works for most people with a W2? It only gets complicated when you start adding dependents or starting side businesses.
they take the appropriate amount out but they don’t “leave me the fuck alone” – you still gotta fill out all the paperwork and file your taxes
pretty much every other country in the world, come tax season, just sends out a receipt for you to sign …
As a Brit, I always assumed the American system worked like that because of freedom or something.
All employers report income and deduct taxes from paychecks directly, so the government knows how much you have paid.
What they don’t know is if you’ve won a lottery, sold a service or have someone bunking at your place paying rent. This you need to declare yourself.
In the UK the rule is: we will assume you have nothing else, please let us know if you have additional income
In the US (and Canada) the rule is: we will assume you have a lot of shit, please let us know even if you don’t have additional income.
The US system stems from Conservatives having nothing other to run on than “people are going to grift and if you’re an honest employed american you have nothing to worry about”. Which is a measure that mostly affects the poor and those who don’t know the law.
The same reason healthcare was tied to employers. They convince people nothing could go wrong because only those working should have healthcare. Which we can all see is insane but looks good on paper.
Knowing the correct solution and knowing whether or not a solution is correct are not the same thing. Doesn’t really apply here, but it’s important to remember.
0..9999999 | Where-Object { Test-ValidTaxReturn $_ } | Select-Object -First 1
Brushing your teeth regularly will help prevent cavities. Doesn’t really apply here, but it’s important to remember.
In Belgium its almost completely hands-off
It gets calculated for you, although you can check it if you like to make sure.
It usually is correct, in which case you don’t have to do a thing.
Recently in Brazil we basically just have to hit a button on a web application. It’s definitely a little more complicated if you are a business owner.