Re:Modeling a Wealth Tax
by dnautics on Tuesday August 18, 2020 @10:51AM
(#24199297)
Every tax payer pays at a minimum their time and stress to file the paperwork, many don't realize that best effort is probably good enough for them, those who are fortunate can spend $150 to a leech of a lying, scheming company to reduce that burden.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Modeling a Wealth Tax
by narraturgy on Tuesday August 18, 2020 @11:00AM
(#24199440)
The notion that the time and stress involved with the paperwork is onerous enough to merit being considered payment seems tenuous to me. The gov't has been pushing (as hard as it can) free file services for all of the years that I've been doing taxes. Using those free file options, I--a standard W-2 worker who doesn't make much--complete my taxes in about 15 minutes these days. The companies that convince people to pay them to do that tiny amount for paperwork are also working to hide how ridiculously quick and stress-free it is for one of those 44% to do their taxes.
That's a bit of an over generalization. It gets more tedious for people with multiple jobs, investments, a business, etc. Not to mention, many places also require state and local tax paperwork. The companies that charge money, including TurboTax, lobby to keep the tax codes complex so they can keep charging people money.
I don't stress out over my taxes anymore, but just about everyone else I know does. Of say the 100 closes people you know, how many of them file on the last day, how many people ask for extensions, how many people give up and hire someone to do it for them? That alone should speak volumes.
That's because of corrupt American politicians and lobbying by Intuit, not something inherent to an income tax. Many countries have a simpler income tax process.
The IRS allows many people to file taxes electronically for free (https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-f...) as do some private companies.
Sure, it's not fun, but it's not an overwhelming burden for those with a simple 1040.
Re:Modeling a Wealth Tax
by mixmastamyk on Tuesday August 18, 2020 @12:01PM
(#24200309)
Just reading the instructions, noting all the exceptions, and assembling the forms takes hours.
finding that information isn't easy.
Google "free tax file". It's the top hit. I think it's also on your W2's your employer gives you. I'm not sure if it could be made easier, but open to suggestions.
Re:Modeling a Wealth Tax
by mixmastamyk on Tuesday August 18, 2020 @12:17PM
(#24200549)
Used to be hidden and had disclaimers that it couldn't be used if income was over 50k or something ridiculous, making it unusable in CA.
It's still about 1000x more complicated than filing in New Zealand, which is comparable to filing on the California site. Basically a 15 minute wizard on a web page.