Moved to @I saw this on another account, but I'm reposting it in order to add alt text.
Finnley Dolfin@usernameswift @tonytins I need an explanation on this because as far as I know filing taxes has existed before TurboTax.
tonytins@FinnleyDolfin @usernameswift TurboTax prevented the government from creating their own easier system.
@tonytins @usernameswift Well, taxes have never been easy. Even the 1040-EZ has all these calculations one needs to do and process a bunch of if/then statements in their head. If they truly were easy then tax preparers wouldn’t exist
@FinnleyDolfin @usernameswift Let me rephrase that to "free." Regardless, computing has advanced enough that this really shouldn't be an issue, let alone one that we have to pay for.
Taking off the other person @tonytins
If we had a flat tax that would work for reported income. But there’s unreported/underreported income, deductions, weird tax situations. Which is why there are many many confusing forms.
@FinnleyDolfin Unreported and sudden events makes sense, but we're already taxed on everything we shop. Furthermore, the fact that we have to pay for preparers over something that is our civic duty really makes no sense.
@tonytins sales taxes, excise taxes, and property taxes (consumption taxes) are considered to be regressive taxes which means they have greater impact on lower-income.
Income tax is progressive, and ideally should be taxed at a rate higher if the person is a high earner. This helps create an equitable distribution on the tax burden.
Income taxes are typically spent on specific government services, typically on the federal level.
Fees for tax preparation may be deductible.