Re:Would You Let the I.R.S. Prepare Your Taxes?
by snowwrestler on Wednesday April 15, 2015 @01:26PM
(#9382566)
What Intuit lobbies against is allowing the IRS to provide pre-filled tax forms to citizens. They don't lobby to keep the tax code complicated.
I post this not to defend Intuit, but to clarify why the tax code is complicated. It's not because Intuit goes to Congress and says "please make this thing complicated." It's because millions of people and companies each go to Congress for their pet issue.
Norquist objects to pre-filled tax forms because he wants people to think hard about their taxes at least once a year. The theory is that if paying taxes is easy and automatic, it will be harder to argue for simplification. No one will care if things are complicated if they can just push one button and forget about it.
It's part of a larger ongoing debate: if government services work so well that citizens don't have to think about them, will that have the side effect of reducing citizen engagement?
It's not so different from the tech concerns about Apple's iOS ecosystem. Will the super easy, super controlled experience of the iPhone result in fewer kids thinking about programming?
I post this not to defend Intuit, but to clarify why the tax code is complicated. It's not because Intuit goes to Congress and says "please make this thing complicated." It's because millions of people and companies each go to Congress for their pet issue.
Norquist objects to pre-filled tax forms because he wants people to think hard about their taxes at least once a year. The theory is that if paying taxes is easy and automatic, it will be harder to argue for simplification. No one will care if things are complicated if they can just push one button and forget about it.
It's part of a larger ongoing debate: if government services work so well that citizens don't have to think about them, will that have the side effect of reducing citizen engagement?
It's not so different from the tech concerns about Apple's iOS ecosystem. Will the super easy, super controlled experience of the iPhone result in fewer kids thinking about programming?