FTC judge rules Intuit broke law, must stop advertising TurboTax as “free”::Intuit plans appeal, slams FTC’s “predetermined decision.”

  • stevedidWHAT
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    4610 months ago

    The fact that the govt has the balls to tell me to figure out how much I owe them is hysterical. Especially when they supposedly know (at least roughly) how much I should owe

    • @[email protected]
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      3110 months ago

      I think the irs is piloting its own tax filing software this year.

      I think it’s still in beta, but it’s a step in the right direction.

      • stevedidWHAT
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        1810 months ago

        I was gonna say some snarky shit about govt software being ass but I think you’re right ultimately. It’s not perfect, it’ll probably suck, but it’s better than letting people like turbo tax profit off something we legally have to fucking do and is complicated for most people to do.

        There are lots of other free options to help file out there however, I will say that.

      • Altima NEO
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        510 months ago

        Cant wait to try that. Real tired of the bullshit of dealing with tax prep software companies. Their bullshit, fake smiley happy cheery “were looking to do what we can to save you the most money”. My ass they do.

        • @[email protected]
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          410 months ago

          Yeah, it’s so tiring figuring it all out. And I messaged an accountant that wanted like $700 to do my taxes.

          What the hell!? I’d rather just make a mistake and over pay too much.

    • @[email protected]
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      2410 months ago

      Companies like TurboTax bribe politicians to not pass laws that would require you be told how much you owe

      • stevedidWHAT
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        410 months ago

        Wow, I’d never heard of this. Was there a specific story or article you read about this or did you mean that loosely

        • @[email protected]
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          1210 months ago

          Google for “Intuit lobbying.”

          It’s not literally bribery; it’s corporate America at work. Effectively bribery, IMHO.

          • stevedidWHAT
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            210 months ago

            Lobbying is brain aids I don’t understand what it’s legitimate purpose is

              • stevedidWHAT
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                210 months ago

                Is there though? I feel like your “businesses” decision to push for laws should be done as an individual citizen like everyone else. Idk again I don’t really see their point personally

    • no banana
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      910 months ago

      Yeah in Sweden we just get the information and have to sign it or correct faults in their calculations (things they couldn’t have known etc). Takes 5 minutes for most people and can be done in the phone with digital identification.

      • @[email protected]
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        510 months ago

        UK ex-pat here. I was self employed. You typed in the numbers of what you earned, what you spent, hit send. That’s it. The American system is so fucked.

        • stevedidWHAT
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          210 months ago

          This is basically what we do also but we have a bunch of other fields and whatnot for other services and so on and so forth.

          It’s just more bs paperwork to trip up poor people on and let rich people navigate through.

    • ElPussyKangaroo
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      610 months ago

      Why is the US like this? I’m not from there and am very confused… how is it the citizen’s responsibility?

      • @[email protected]
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        910 months ago

        Most people in the UK don’t think about tax, it just happens without their input.

        If you have a small business or something more complex there are forms, but they’re not that complex… you mostly just tick boxes.

        The US sounds like a dystopian nightmare the way they talk about tax.

        • ElPussyKangaroo
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          110 months ago

          Ifkr?! How tf do I have to calculate what I owe you? Especially when YOU are setting the rates! Wtf?!

    • r00ty
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      510 months ago

      I think in most of Europe (speaking from UK here) if you have one job then it’s on the employer to sort your tax out. You get a form at the end of the year to add any other other gains (including benefit in kind etc). If you owe more they adjust your tax code next year to cover it. If they owe you they send a cheque, and then I have to remember how to deposit such ancient technology.

    • @[email protected]
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      310 months ago

      IRS: Guess how much you owe.

      Me: $20,000?

      IRS: Nope!

      Me: Okay how much do I owe?

      IRS: You have to guess!

    • @[email protected]
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      110 months ago

      I think the idea is that if you do it and they do it, when they match, they can assume they are both right, and when they don’t, they can compare and update their side or suggest/demand correction on yours. And if things look fishy, have a closer look at everything with an audit.

      • @[email protected]
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        1210 months ago

        Okay, how bout they do the math, I check their work, and if I disagree I let them know? And what if that process didn’t involve a bunch of complicated bullshit rules, and what if I didn’t have to put money into garbage tax companies’ pockets?

        I have one source of income and I am not rich. I don’t have a trust, or investments, or multiple jobs. My taxes should be simple as hell, easy to file, and free.

        • stevedidWHAT
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          010 months ago

          Interesting counterpoint to an already interesting point!

          🍿 🍿😃

      • @[email protected]
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        310 months ago

        I feel that taxes should just be automatic unless you do unusual things like own a personal business or trade a lot of stocks or some such. Doing taxes for those makes sense since you need to write off business expenses and similar

      • @[email protected]
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        710 months ago

        In some other countries, you only need to fill out the exemption part. If you have nothing, you just click “file” and it does it for you