[nonamenoslogan]

My wife and I file pretty standard forms every year--no complicated deductions, only 2-3 W2s, maybe a couple 1099s and a 1098-E. For the first few years of our marriage, I did taxes by hand as a point of pride and enjoyed it (yeah, I know--most say yuck). Around 2006ish, I got a copy of TurboTax in a bundle with my first MacBook Pro and I've never looked back. It's absolutely worth it to me for $40 to me for the ease of e-filing, standardized output with all worksheets and forms, and speed of return via direct deposit. I get $40 is a lot to some people and tbh, I fully support a sliding percentage tax system with NO returns, but the vast majority of people get a return anyway, why not count the $40 out of it to be sure your returns were done right?

Oh, and yea, I still quite enjoy tax-night when I get to sit down with my reciepts and 109x's and file, though I will say I always mail my state returns in to avoid the additional $20 fee for e-file.

[john567]

How the fuck can there be a fee for "e-file" it should be the opposite if anything.

I live in Sweden. Yeah, that country. Not only do we have a bank issued digital identity our revenue service has a online system for doing your taxes and it takes less than 10 minutes.

If you buy/sell stocks using ISK and have a mortgage all of that is manage for you. You just review the numbers and sign of on it (using your digital identity). Then you get your returns.

The US tax system is perplexing to me.

[Gortal278]

Each state has is own tax requirements, the federal government has it's own tax requirements, some cities (NYC, Detroit etc) have they own tax requirements. You have the ability to specify how much tax you wish to be with held by your employer if you are employed. You need to file taxes quarterly if you are self employed.

It's complicated because the variation of tax paying. It becomes bottom up rather than top down.

[john567]

Different districts in Sweden have different rates but that's it.

I was mostly upset by them asking for a fee if you do taxes digitally. That should make it easier for them.

[DiabloD3]

Except you're paying $40 to a company that prevents you from having what every other modern western country has: $0, and the government did it for you.

They stole your $40 every year and used it to lobby Congress.

[Gortal278]

You can do your taxes for free, it's just a total pita because the tax code is complicated.

[nonamenoslogan]

We have a TON of this kind of catch-22 in the US. Capitalism and all; you can choose the free complicated way or the not-free easy way. You’re still free to complain about either. If I had my way, we’d do a progressive flat-tax; going as high as 75% for anyone making more than 1 million a year with NO returns or deductions whatsoever—-I’m sure you’d happily call me a socialist dunce if I proposed that though.

[lp0_on_fire]

> If I had my way, we’d do a progressive flat-tax; going as high as 75% for anyone making more than 1 million a year with NO returns or deductions whatsoever

"Progressive flat tax" Those two things are the opposite of each other.

[Gortal278]

Flat taxes are not "progressive taxes", you don't know what you are talking about.

[selfportrait]

> why not count the $40 out of it to be sure your returns were done right?

Do you realize how absurd it is to justify having to pay a fee… just to give the government our money? It’s a weird argument to make especially when normalizing the whole TurboTax angle, a company that is not only the result of but a perpetuator of our broken system. Lobby to keep our system broken and inefficient to rake in money from taxpayers.

Not only should the process be free — no exceptions — but it should be painless too. And we have not checked either one of those boxes. And people will continue supporting TurboTax to inject their $40 right into the company’s lobbying budget.

It shocks me sometimes how little imagination for innovation some people have, especially as it relates to the government and the ways our institutions are ran. This is not the norm in many other countries around the world and neither should it be.

[nonamenoslogan]

Hey, you’re free to file freely via mail all you want—I get Intuit is a problem, but I choose $40 as an easy way to double check my work and that’s it. Its the US, freedom above sense sometimes, whatever.

[selfportrait]

The most American response ever. “I know it’s insane and stupid but at least freedom.” I would sit here and explain how what you’re describing is only an illusion of freedom but I feel I’ll continue this cascade of ignorance.