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Congress Is About to Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing. (trun)
propublica ^ | 9APR19 | by Justin Elliott

Posted on 04/10/2019 6:46:20 AM PDT by vannrox

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To: HotHunt

I’ve intentionally simplified my income to just keep EVERYTHING simple. I’ve many times thought about starting a business but I just can’t deal with how much bowing to the government I’d have to do to do it. So I remain and always will be, of “average” income because I don’t want to mess with the Kremlin.


41 posted on 04/10/2019 8:12:02 AM PDT by cuban leaf
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To: vannrox

“Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system.”

Once again congress is seen to be working for the good of the American people, you know the ones that elect them and pay their salary.

Bwahahahahahahahahaha


42 posted on 04/10/2019 8:14:05 AM PDT by antidemoncrat
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To: central_va

Of course not, always open to a higher bidder...


43 posted on 04/10/2019 8:14:30 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: vannrox; All
"Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently [??? emphasis added] bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system."
FR: Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponent’s Argument

“Permanent" until the next election.

Also, patriots are reminded, regardless who runs electronic tax filing systems, that the corrupt, post-17th Amendment ratification feds are still going to be collecting unconstitutional federal taxes until the states wise up and repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments.

"Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States."—Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.


Remember in November 2020!

MAGA!


44 posted on 04/10/2019 8:30:14 AM PDT by Amendment10
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To: vannrox
I filed my own taxes for the first time in 30 years. (They have become very simple since retirement). I tried to use one of the “Free” e-file services touted as “alliances” on the IRS.gov website. I didn't qualify to use most of them because of my age was too high. I guess they don't want such a short-term relationship. One service, “1040 Now”, however, did offer to file “Federal AND STATE for free. So I signed up, provided all my personal information, SSN, etc., right down to my Driver's License number and IRS “PIN”. I filled out the Federal form and that worked well. When I started to complete the Missouri form they hit me with a $17.00 charge message. I was then incented to review the forms provided by the State of Missouri.

Turned out, Missouri Dept. of Revenue has an excellent dynamic PDF which will do automatic calculations, transfers of information to associated schedules, and automatically suggest needed schedules. It has worksheets for details and the worksheet results are automatically entered in the main forms. It was a snap. Moreover, it creates a code with your information that the DOR can scan. It prints your needed forms and you can then mail it in without further administrative complications. Great job, Missouri. Link to MO forms: (At least for now, you have to have Internet Explorer and the latest Adobe PDF Reader to make it work).

I went back to the IRS.gov site and was able to find a somewhat fillable 1040 form that I completed using Firefox for Linux and a Linux Mint-approved PDF reader called “Evince”. It worked fine filling in boxes but I had to do my own calculations and make my own decisions regarding needed schedules.

I don't mind the private tax services wanting to be exclusive providers of tax assistance. I appreciate the IRS trying to assist people to file electronically. I do, however, want the IRS to monitor their “alliance's” policies if they are going to partner with them and give them access to my most personal data. IRS should insure that their “partners” are not discriminating against old people, insure that alliance members have strong security, and that they are not selling personal data.

I doubt that the “alliance” system will be successful due to the marketing needs of the third party providers, or the perception of those needs by the user. If the IRS is ever going to win back the trust lost during the Lois Lerner years, they need to establish their own secure, confidential, and simple-to-use e-file methods. If they need any help with that, they could ask the State of Missouri.

45 posted on 04/10/2019 8:42:56 AM PDT by Boutain Quail
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To: cuban leaf

The IRS likes to enforce the tax law selectively—if you (or your industry’s professional association) keep your Congress-critter in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed all will be well.

I have told this story before, but it is worth repeating.

I had a very bright young (at that moment naive) friend who used to work for the IRS. He decided to visit some city halls in his district and pull a random sample of building permits. Building permits include the cost of the construction covered by the permit. He then pulled the tax returns of the contracting businesses and compared the building permits to their IRS returns. He brought the results to his boss and said “if we audit these guys we will collect millions”. His boss checked up the line of command was told—”no audits, don’t go there”.


46 posted on 04/10/2019 8:48:37 AM PDT by cgbg (Democracy dies in darkness when Bezos bans books.)
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To: cuban leaf
I think you are misinformed about income and running a small business.

I don't have three businesses to make more money like you imply. I run the businesses to to avoid paying higher taxes.

I run my businesses my way and pay my taxes. Paying taxes is the only way I "bow to the government" but then you have to pay taxes too so there is no difference between what .

I make approximately $18,000 a year before the losses on my businesses help reduce that for tax reporting purposes. Being self-employed allows you to realize more bang for each buck you make because you can expense things through your businesses before reporting your income to the "Kremlin" as you call it.

I'm not sure what "average" income has to do with it but I'm guessing my $18,000 annual income is less than your "average" income.

And you say you pay taxes every year but I get all of my money back from the IRS every year.

Like I said, running a small business for me is not about making more income, but in reducing the taxes I have to pay the IRS, which allows me to keep what I make.

47 posted on 04/10/2019 8:50:46 AM PDT by HotHunt (Mollasses runs faster up hill than politicians do running downhill.)
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To: vannrox

I usually do a dry run estimate of my taxes once my W-2 comes in. I calculated my taxes on my own - $305. I fell for TurboTax’s “free free free” ads and went online, gave them all my info. Their verdict? I owed $300. TurboTax doesn’t care about cents, so they rounded down some of my numbers.

At various points, they try to sell me “protection” from audits, etc. When it came time to file, they insisted on an IRS number. I didn’t have one. So I downloaded the forms I would have filed, added a check and mailed it myself.

I don’t think it should be made illegal. I appreciate having my math checked before officially filing and if you are firm enough to say “no” to the prompts you come out with a pre-printed 1040 form to send off.


48 posted on 04/10/2019 9:17:09 AM PDT by OrangeHoof (Trump is Making the Media Grate Again)
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To: HotHunt

I don’t have three businesses to make more money like you imply. I run the businesses to to avoid paying higher taxes.


I actually do understand that. I sold commercial real estate in downtown Seattle back in the early 80’s and learned, from real world examples, all sorts of stuff about taxes, business and income that, at the time, shocked the hell out of me.

Thing is, I don’t want to go to all that work and then find myself needing an atourney or two on top of the accountant or two. Like I said, I like to keep it simple.

I also confess that I am wrong on this. That is, it is something that was instilled in me as a child and it is a part of my makeup: If you stay small, the government will generally leave you alone. It is now in my DNA.

It’s comical because I have a billionaire sister.


49 posted on 04/10/2019 9:29:42 AM PDT by cuban leaf
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To: C210N
You might be interested in this: The 1913 Income Tax form.

I've been looking for a way to automate an online copy of the form that would allow you to fill out the form with data and have it display the results for you. Unfortunately, I suck as a programmer. Someday I might hire someone to write it up in javascript so that it all executes locally in your browswer and doesn't send any info over the wire.

50 posted on 04/10/2019 10:16:43 AM PDT by zeugma (Power without accountability is fertilizer for tyranny.)
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To: Skywise
Making it onerous is to keep the frustration level up so people fight back against oppressive taxation.

If they really wanted to make it onerous, they'd stop withholding and make you write a check for the full amount owed every April 15th.

Too many people just see the 'refund' and never really realize how much in taxes they actually paid IMO.

51 posted on 04/10/2019 10:18:48 AM PDT by zeugma (Power without accountability is fertilizer for tyranny.)
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To: zeugma

Which is why you see all the screeching articles about how all the refunds are smaller this year because TRUMP!

Even though people are paying far less.


52 posted on 04/10/2019 10:23:36 AM PDT by Skywise
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To: Amendment10

I’m thinking that it’s also the unionized IRS employees that “compute” the taxes those that wish it.


53 posted on 04/10/2019 11:22:52 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: vannrox

I use Credit Karma, fast, accurate, free.


54 posted on 04/10/2019 11:46:50 AM PDT by Midwesterner53
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To: cuban leaf
I'm small. Never been audited. Done my own taxes every year since 1962.

I've never had an accountant or hired a lawyer for anything in my life.

The IRS nor any other department in the government has ever contacted me about my businesses or my taxes.

You can be simple, small and still function in the business world without attracting the attention of the government.

55 posted on 04/10/2019 12:01:32 PM PDT by HotHunt (Mollasses runs faster up hill than politicians do running downhill.)
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To: HotHunt

Yes. I find myself on the exact opposite side of the conversations I find myself in when I tell people I’m 65 and have no health insurance. :D

i.e. I see where you are coming from. ;)


56 posted on 04/10/2019 12:14:01 PM PDT by cuban leaf
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To: vannrox

Go ahead. I’ve decided to stop filing, anyway.


57 posted on 04/10/2019 3:22:22 PM PDT by sparklite2 (Don't mind me. I'm just a contrarian.)
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