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Does this plan make sense? v2
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024
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Wouldn't the ban on tax preparation companies hurt mostly the middle class? The rich can just get full time accountants to handle all their finances, and these accountants will also optimize their taxes as part of the general service they provide.
The IRS actually wants to make tax prep easier. Companies like TurboTax and the like are predatory.
They lobby congress to keep taxes complicated. All to milk people for $20-$35 each at tax time. Many countries either file taxes for you or make it super easy.
Think about it. You do your taxes and send them in... but the IRS sometimes sends out corrections. I've received MORE sometimes and others get audited to pay more. That means the IRS knows what you owe already...
Ideally it would be similar to basic online tax prep. But posted by the IRS (which has started already!!!)
Most countries don't require the nonsense you go through at all.
The nonsense is there specifically to benefit the tax prep companies. Getting rid of one without the other isn't... Anything anyone is advocating for. You get rid of both, simultaneously, because you have to, and because it's right. How you make it work? Tax the rich, mostly
We should definitely give most people a better option for filing taxes but can’t imagine being able to get away from that as you get wealthier, have a business or certain non-salary income sources.
Tax prep services will always be necessary, but not for the majority of individuals
But there are very little income sources that the IRS couldn't have direct access to - just build a national system connecting banks, brokers, international transactions, etc. Put the reporting burden on companies and other gov bodies.
These are complex admin systems that wealthy counties build, part of an overall digitalisation of government systems. I mean, I can't think of a single government related thing I can't do online (or on the phone). Every citizen can be issued 2FA once identified (and/or a digital certificate), the rest we pay taxes for them to set up.
IRS has no reliable way of knowing my cash tip income, that I won the Irish lottery, that I sold my vineyard in France for a tidy profit, etc. without an audit, they have no way to follow a shell game of payments criss-crossing among my 500+ companies to be able to tax my real estate profits. They can’t know the depreciation I’m writing off for expensive office furniture is for my summer home
If I understand you correctly - isn't that profit tax? And companies have the burden and obligation to report.
And I was talking about common folk or like 95% of USA. You are right about cash-tips. We just dont pay taxes on it. But it's also not an integral part of, well, anything. Its more of a p2p transaction.
Companies have the burden to report but if you have many you can play games with payments across each other to concentrate the profit or loss to advantage yourself. Depending on how it’s incorporated m, that may belong to the business entity or you. As far as I know, IRS generally treats each business entity separately, so unless they have reason to audit, may not be able to follow a chain of payments across them.
I thought we were talking about income tax, not profit tax. And Im sure IRS has group-level reporting and audits ... at last on paper, pre-lobby/bribes at last.
Afaik everyone needs to file solo & consolidated group level bs and p&l statements.
Banning tax prep companies is a bad, poorly thought out idea.
Simplifying tax prep is the avert. Doing what the rest of the developed world does, where the IRS sends you a receipt and you can either accept that or manually file if you think you owe less.
Banning tax prep companies just hurts people who have a nonstandard tax situation. Small business owners, people with tax relief from disabilities, all manner of normal people in niche situations. Don't take away the tools they need, remove the opportunity for parasite companies to prey upon average people.
Change the tax law saying that under 1 million moneys individuals can't be held responsible for IRSs errors.
Also even complex income tax preparation should not take you more than an hour to fully review yourself. If it does, it's a bad system & probably like that by design.