> But not instantly. And not all of it in time for April 15th. Sometimes those details don't make it to the IRS for years.
And yet it has to get there by tax time so I’m having trouble believing it takes some tax forms literally years to make it to DC. Especially when you go to jail if they don’t.
> We don't yet live in a world of instantaneous information transfer about every American citizen to the government.
Buuuut it all has to get there by April 15th (actually February right) so I’m having trouble following this line of reasoning.
> Some people also see that as a good thing.
Why would information arriving quarterly (bi-weekly even) instead of annually be a bad thing when that information is legally bound to arrive at its destination anyways?
The only thing you're arguing is that the government shouldn't run their program a few months before you submit the documents, then send it to you for review, instead of afterwards and sending it to a tax judge. That's madness.
And yet it has to get there by tax time so I’m having trouble believing it takes some tax forms literally years to make it to DC.
It sounds like you've never needed to file a revised tax form for a previous year. I have, and millions of other people do it each year.
Especially when you go to jail if they don’t.
The IRS doesn't show up on your doorstep on April 16th if you don't file. There's a process. A long, involved process. Even if you pay nothing, it takes months before they start forcibly taking money from you. If you file for an extension or two, it's even longer than that.
Why would information arriving quarterly (bi-weekly even) instead of annually be a bad thing when that information is legally bound to arrive at its destination anyways?
Because the vast majority of America's accountants are one or two person shops with neither the time nor the technology to make this happen. In spite of the rhetoric you see on the internet, the government (via the politicians) doesn't like to make things hard on small businesses unless it really has to.
The only thing you're arguing is that the government shouldn't run their program a few months before you submit the documents, then send it to you for review, instead of afterwards and sending it to a tax judge.
> It sounds like you've never needed to file a revised tax form for a previous year. I have, and millions of other people do it each year.
Wouldn’t it be great if it was automatic and right the first time and you didn’t have to file amendments as a consequence because the source material made its way to the IRS AND they told you how much to pay? Or the frequency was dramatically reduced via automation?
> Because the vast majority of America's accountants are one or two person shops with neither the time nor the technology to make this happen.
(a) companies, employers, brokerages, etc all do this filing.
(b) we wouldn’t need nearly as many tax accountants, they’re just a drain on the economy. They’re employed to do the same thing as TurboTax: fill a hole intentionally left open in the IRS as a make work project. Like lamplighters, some jobs get obsoleted by technological and legal advancements.
Regular accountants sure. I’m talking about starting with individuals not business edge cases though.
(c) accountants already file quarterly, for me anyways...
Wouldn’t it be great if it was automatic and right the first time
Except that life doesn't work that way. Not everything in life is linear. Things have to be changed. Going back and making revisions is what humans do.
Nobody’s proposing not allowing amendments though, just that the government send you a best effort of your taxes to verify and for you to send back if correct. Amend away.
And yet it has to get there by tax time so I’m having trouble believing it takes some tax forms literally years to make it to DC. Especially when you go to jail if they don’t.
> We don't yet live in a world of instantaneous information transfer about every American citizen to the government.
Buuuut it all has to get there by April 15th (actually February right) so I’m having trouble following this line of reasoning.
> Some people also see that as a good thing.
Why would information arriving quarterly (bi-weekly even) instead of annually be a bad thing when that information is legally bound to arrive at its destination anyways?
The only thing you're arguing is that the government shouldn't run their program a few months before you submit the documents, then send it to you for review, instead of afterwards and sending it to a tax judge. That's madness.