The case for why Google should be regulated as a public utility

Re:The case for why Google should be regulated as a public u... by cmrdporcupine on Tuesday August 11, 2020 @12:02PM (#24121852)

FWIW the Canadian tax system is heading in this direction. With electronic filing programs most things get pre-filled now with data from Canada Revenue Agency based on the information they've received from your employer, your bank, your trading institutions, etc. Then it's more a matter of going through and verifying information and adding in any missing information (for example sale info from my stock units held in my employer's US brokerage) and looking any deductions that might apply (and the set of those is shrinking, which imho is a good thing)

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Re:The case for why Google should be regulated as a public u... by mikepurvis on Tuesday August 11, 2020 @12:18PM (#24122078)

Canadian here— there's definitely been a movement in recent years away from deductions in favour of direct payments throughout the year. Thinking especially of the child benefit and the carbon tax rebate, and the elimination of boutique credits like one that used to apply to the purchase of public transit passes (https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canad...).

I get that politicians like the psychology of people receiving a cheque or direct deposit vs a tax deduction ("it was my money all along"), but I think it is genuinely a positive step in terms of helping people at the low end of the economy who don't have the means to save receipts or jump through whatever other hoops are necessary to nickel and dime the government at tax time.

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Re:The case for why Google should be regulated as a public u... by shadowgovt on Tuesday August 11, 2020 @12:10PM (#24121970)

It is a good thing. Private tax accountants are a huge political lobby in the US, so it's a non-starter here.

The US barely got off the ground a free option for public e-filing, and we managed to botch it up by handing it to a private company to implement, which promptly turned around and made it absolutely as impossible to access as they were allowed to by law.

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Re:The case for why Google should be regulated as a public u... by JAlexoid on Tuesday August 11, 2020 @01:56PM (#24123465)

US - the cronyism dream.

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Re:The case for why Google should be regulated as a public u... by TheOtherHobbes on Tuesday August 11, 2020 @02:44PM (#24124175)

One way or another, those free markets always turn out to be really expensive for customers and users.

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Re:The case for why Google should be regulated as a public u... by JAlexoid on Tuesday August 11, 2020 @01:56PM (#24123457)

I used to run a company in Lithuania and now am a simple employee in US.

It took me about 10 minutes for monthly tax filings and 30 minutes for the annual tax filing for my company and 4 employees. I did not have an accountant - I didn't need one.

It is a nightmare filing taxes in US, even paying $300 to Intuit. It takes about a week of my time... for something that is supposed to be automated. I also never manage to get the tax calculated correctly in advance, because no consumer facing tax company will bother with you before you get your annual statement(W2). I have a very variable income - RSU's and other optional income... so I get hit by underpayment fee from IRS.... and don't get me started on the fact that every state has their own tax authority...

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