Re:FedNow FAQ
by missedthecue on Thursday August 18, 2022 @04:04PM
(#32514225)
But most Americans have at least a few deductions. How many Americans have offshore income? Especially the ones that would be relying on gov. tax prep?
In this case, it is mostly one sided
See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32513370
Roughly 90% of Americans file using the standard deduction ($13k for a single person, $26k for a married couple filing jointly). Median household income is ~$67k, so the median household is not itemizing.
The remaining 10% of people would not be bound to use the free public system.
Re:FedNow FAQ
by missedthecue on Thursday August 18, 2022 @04:19PM
(#32514388)
You can qualify for a number of deductions without itemizing.
This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation. The tax law is what it Congress decides it is. The law depends on taxpayers to report their incomes as well as deductions and other facets of their financial lives (e.g. household size, addresses, etc.).
A government-run tax prep site couldn't necessarily pull in all of your deductions, that's correct. But it also couldn't necessarily pull in all your income (especially business income, offshore income, etc.). It's mostly neutral in that respect.