There’s a Tax Season Villain, and It’s Not the I.R.S.

There’s a Tax Season Villain, and It’s Not the I.R.S. | NYT Opinion

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4 ай бұрын

It’s the most miserable time of the year: tax season.
Americans are about to spend millions of hours and billions of dollars filing their federal income taxes, and they are pretty sure they know who is responsible for their pain: The misanthropes at the Internal Revenue Service.
But we’re here to convince you that the I.R.S. is not the problem.
Yes, it should be easy to file taxes. And yes, it should be free. That’s how it works in the rest of the developed world, and it could very easily work that way here, too. It is absurd that America’s tax system is so antiquated and complicated that most people must pay someone else to help them pay the government.
So what is standing in the way of progress?
Watch.
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@johnnyharris 4 ай бұрын

Love working with the Times. I always learn a ton. Thanks for this great collab!

@Peritye 4 ай бұрын

youre welcome, bro.

@dustyrabbit9234 4 ай бұрын

awesome combo!

@jonathanfiore 4 ай бұрын

Great video Johnny!

@BobMori 4 ай бұрын

Excellent work.

@SaccoMabowles 4 ай бұрын

"collab". There's no collab with corporations, and much less with one that's so blatantly propagandistic like them or you. Enjoy your shekels, son.

@mahzabinmannan9376 4 ай бұрын

America needs to stop sugarcoating the term "bribery" to lobbying.

@nlocnil3602 4 ай бұрын

They took corruption and legalised it and gave it a word and then call other governments corrupt 😂

@Xeonerable 4 ай бұрын

The wealthy control the media outlets which distort the narrative. "lobbying" "job creators" etc..

@BogdanOfficalPage 4 ай бұрын

Bribery would mean it’s done in secret

@darkchocolate3390 4 ай бұрын

I mean, there is a legal difference between lobbying and bribing.

@aaronpearson1744 4 ай бұрын

@@darkchocolate3390 A legal difference. The most arbitrary type of difference

@ciaobella468 4 ай бұрын

I got a turbotax ad before this video lmao

@jakobhouchin897 4 ай бұрын

same

@iskufila306 4 ай бұрын

I was just laughing about that 😂

@nikoref8316 4 ай бұрын

Get a vpn and put it to Albania. No youtube ads if you do!

@cmair77 4 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂

@chrisgradone 4 ай бұрын

Same here!

@jimdoe8770 4 ай бұрын

Why is this not a bigger story? In 2013 while going to school for Accounting, I had to study the various tax systems in different countries. It's an open secret that the U.S. keeps taxes complex for tax service companies --- at the U.S. citizens' expense.

@stainlesssteellemming3885 4 ай бұрын

You answered your own question: "Why is this not a bigger story? .... It's an open secret that ..." Basically because this is not new news. It's been this way for decades and everyone already knows it. It's like saying "The sun came up this morning. Why is this not a bigger story?"

@Annoyed_Human 4 ай бұрын

@@stainlesssteellemming3885👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽

@jimdoe8770 4 ай бұрын

@@daotheeternalnamelessbeyon8778 That's pretty diabolical!

@MrTweetyhack 3 ай бұрын

the US keeps everything complex to delude the citizens. Criminal law is complex so only the rich are able to get away with crime

@courtneyrowe3229 2 ай бұрын

John Oliver did a big episode on it years ago. Obviously didn't change anything.

@Hannahbenowitz 2 ай бұрын

The financial system has been artificially pumped for over a decade to ensure big pockets were lined; and now those same hands will make a fortune in the largest transfer of wealth in human history by shorting it on the way down. Inflation does have a roll, but that's to keep everyone panicked, and focused on their bills and expenses, rather than focus on the capital crimes of politicians and corporations,I'm still at a crossroads deciding if to liquidate my $338k stock portfolio, what’s the best way to take advantage of this bear market??

@HildaBennet 2 ай бұрын

Find stocks with yields that exceed the market and stocks that, at the very least, follow the long-term market trend. However, you should get guidance from a financial advisor if you want to create a successful long-term plan

@beafoster747 2 ай бұрын

I agree, I've been in constant touch with an Investment advisor for approximately 17 months. These days, it's really easy to buy into trending stocks, but the task is determining when to sell or hold. That's where my advisor comes in, to help me with entry and exit points , I've accrued over $337k from an initially stagnant reserve of $148K all within 18 months...

@PennyBergeron-os4ch 2 ай бұрын

need a guide so i can salvage my port-folio due to the massive dips and come up with better strategies. How can one reach this advisor??

@beafoster747 2 ай бұрын

Google Sonya Lee Mitchell and do your own research. She has portfolio management down to a science

@PennyBergeron-os4ch 2 ай бұрын

I ran an online search on her name and came across her websiite; pretty well educated. thank you for sharing.

@Vivek-zw3ex 4 ай бұрын

I moved out from the US to Malaysia 10 years ago. In Malaysia, I filed my taxes by going to the government portal, my income details were automatically populated from my tax ID number, and I just had to enter in any deductions I was eligible to claim. It literally took 5 minutes and I was done. From Malaysia, I moved to the UK. In the UK, I don't even have to do that. Taxes are automatically deducted based on my earnings, to the exact penny, and there's no need to file any sort of return whatsoever. There's a separate government portal for claiming deductions, and you can claim for up to the last five tax years at once. The USA is living in the 1800s.

@kth6736 4 ай бұрын

Exact same for India. Takes about 30 mins.

@benjaminvagg8514 4 ай бұрын

Sorry, its easy for your government to take your money whenever they like? This is propaganda to stop you from questioning the amount of tax you actaully pay and what your actually elligible to get back, if you don't fight for your own case, then the government just takes... Go back to Sheep.

@billbadson7598 4 ай бұрын

_"I moved out from the US to Malaysia 10 years ago. In Malaysia, I filed my taxes by going to the government portal, my income details were automatically populated from my tax ID number, and I just had to enter in any deductions I was eligible to claim. It literally took 5 minutes and I was done."_ I use TurboTax in the US, and my return also filled out instantly with my ID number on my W2. All I had to fill out were my deductions (if I wanted)

@xandror 4 ай бұрын

The key difference is American congressmen are paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to keep things the way they are and keep businesses like health insurance companies, big pharma, and turbo tax going forever. It's Serpico on a giant scale.

@killerwhale__ 4 ай бұрын

@@billbadson7598either you're a bot or you don't understand the video

@laurarincon3424 4 ай бұрын

Do people actually think that the rest of the world files taxes the same way?! I was shocked when I moved to the US and people explained taxes and returns to me. Also, apparently people think about tax refunds as “free money”. No, it’s an interest free loan you gave the government.

@shumoon1 4 ай бұрын

It's not that simple. The withholding definitely is an interest free loan to the government, but refundable credits like Earned Income Credit (EIC) are definitely viewed as free money because the taxpayer did not contribute to it. EIC is a big deal for a lot of people.

@FighterFlash 4 ай бұрын

I will never use turbo tax or Inuit

@themarcusismael13 4 ай бұрын

It’s also free loans and grants to other taxpayers from other taxpayers. The mortgage interest deduction is the single largest cash transfer from working people to wealthy people in the United States.

@shumoon1 4 ай бұрын

@@themarcusismael13 Then again, isn't every transaction involving interest a transfer of wealth from those with less money to those with more money?

@SubvertTheState 4 ай бұрын

So free tax preparation is actually on the deep web.

@aheroictaxidriver3180 4 ай бұрын

This is simple: we have TWO political parties, that BOTH work for the corporations, and NEITHER works for the people.

@chuco915C 2 ай бұрын

How do we fix that?

@xavier_lucas 4 ай бұрын

I am 53 and retired at 50. 1 thing I did do to retire early was to get out of the 401K and IRA programs. Bought rental real-estate and I am now a Limited Partner in about 3500+ units. I do not work.

@simone_maya 4 ай бұрын

I only contribute 5% to get full company match, that’s it. The 401K plan is designed for you to work until you are about dead. Also, the government does not have their hands on it yet either.

@Muller_Andr 4 ай бұрын

My wife and I live off of our 401K. We don't work. I recommend highly to everyone to build your 401K or Roth IRA's as an alternate revenue stream in retirement to your Social Security. An observation on 401K's is when it gets over 300K it starts to accelerate. When you get over 500K it can really accelerate as the stock market grows.

@FranciszekPawal 4 ай бұрын

If I may ask, as in withdrew all of the money from the 401K and IRA programs? If so, what was your strategy behind that decision? Thank you.

@xavier_lucas 4 ай бұрын

I learned about government actions from certified wealth manager in NY by MonicaMaryStrigle. Ms. Strigle explained the benefits of long-term Treasuries and alternative investments, which the government doesn't disclose.

@xavier_lucas 4 ай бұрын

I learned about government actions from certified Advsr in NY by Monica Mary Strigle. Ms. Strigle explained the benefits of long-term Treasuries and alternative investments, which the government doesn't disclose.

@ssbohio 4 ай бұрын

"But the tax preparers and accountants will be out of work." They can do productive work instead. It's not an insurmountable obstacle. Changing jobs is possible.

@reofi 4 ай бұрын

Can confirm that countries with a portal service for lodging tax returns still have personal tax accountants. There are still specific tax situations that people want help navigating

@jerico1299 4 ай бұрын

Accountants do a lot more than file taxes, and businesses and some individuals will still have situations in which tax professionals would be needed. It isn't about accountants and tax proffesionals losing their jobs. It is about large corporations not being able to profit off of something they shouldn't have been allowed to profit off of to begin with.

@ssbohio 4 ай бұрын

@@jerico1299 People have voiced that objection over this, that accountants and tax preparers will lose work, as nonsensical as it is. I agree with you completely. There's so much else that an accountant can do. Why should they be tied up doing actually useless work like filling out tax returns.

@D_Winds 4 ай бұрын

There are too many Americans who believe they should sit behind a desk and pull 6 figure salaries for telling others to do productive work.

@triadwarfare 4 ай бұрын

This is similar to how creative workers like artists and writers are afraid of AI. They love their job. They don't want to do anything else. They are afraid that change is coming and they don't want their work to suddenly become devalued at the expense of everybody else.

@ritokazoriv 4 ай бұрын

The Dutch tax authority's slogan is: "we cannot make it more pleasant, but we can make it easier"

@TheRealJBMcMunn 4 ай бұрын

Sounds like an anesthesiologist. 😂

@TheRealJBMcMunn 4 ай бұрын

On second thought, it could also be the motto of the Guild of Compassionate Rapists. Different rates for Cosby Style (drugged), Epstein Style (might or might not be drugged and/or human trafficking). Then branch out into Hunter Biden Style, Clinton Style, Bob Barker Style, etc.

@nicodesmidt4034 4 ай бұрын

@@TheRealJBMcMunnas long as it works 😂

@ferahl 4 ай бұрын

The new NL gov site looks like it was strongly influenced by UK one, which is the best on earth and way ahead of its time (been that modern for more than 10yrs). Here in HK the gov systems seem like they haven't been updated since 1997.

@Mark-nc2nx 4 ай бұрын

Gewoon hun kantoren afbranden kijken of het leuker kan.....

@ericcarlson6822 4 ай бұрын

I became aware of these issues several years ago. Since then, I have done my taxes by hand. For me, the hassle of doing the calculations myself is more than offset by knowing that I am denying corrupt companies my money, which they will use to buy off lawmakers to make life worse for everyone. My hatred of corruption is the fuel that keeps me going when taxes get annoying to do.

@jimenealtd7113 4 ай бұрын

Corrupt companies? There's plenty of small business tax accounting firm who are not corrupt and/or dishonest, or just keep on doing it by hand so that an IRS clerk has to input it, then that clerk makes sure it gets an agent review.

@gsdavis91 4 ай бұрын

@@jimenealtd7113 The entire baroque process is backwards and corrupt: We have to do this because of lobbying on behalf of companies that shouldn't exist in the first place. It's as if humans had to keep digging holes with toothpicks instead of shovels because a toothpick lobby forced congress to ban shovels. In that sense, any company that profits from this absurdity is corrupt.

@hannahwatkins7992 2 ай бұрын

@@jimenealtd7113 You like to argue just for the sake of arguing, don't you? They never said all tax accounting companies are corrupt/dishonest. They're saying they do their own taxes to avoid the ones that are. Also, why would they want to pay anyone (small business or not) to do what they've already been doing themself?

@user-sh9im1wc3e 4 ай бұрын

As an american who’s lived and worked in Germany and the UK, I have realized that the concept of a default tax refund is also very American. These countries operate on a pay as you go tax system where the taxes taken from your salary are always up to date. Americans are essentially giving an interest-free loan to the government and (currently) forced to pay to file to get it back. If we assume an average tax refund of $1,200, that’s $100 too much given to the IRS each month that could have been spent on bills, investments, etc. which is held hostage until most people pay TurboTax for the luxury of getting it back. Here in Europe, in most cases, people with one full time job have no requirement to file complicated tax forms and don’t get a refund because they were already taxed accurately from the start. Then there’s the fact that Americans abroad still need to file their taxes to avoid penalties and risk being double-taxed, even if they don’t live or work there, which is a whole different can of worms.

@TheOMT 4 ай бұрын

"It has made an industry out of something that ought to be a public service." This is at the core of so, so many of the Western world's social problems.

@_prototyp 4 ай бұрын

But the US just does it in different scale, than anybody else

@victortoba-ogunleye4056 4 ай бұрын

nah largely the US.A

@Travelbyailsa 4 ай бұрын

@@_prototypdefinitely

@dianegreen1937 4 ай бұрын

Exactly!

@AkshayAradhya 4 ай бұрын

And also where most of the innovation comes from, because private companies always do a better job than the government.

@lseh4720 4 ай бұрын

When my daughter was 6 years old, I heard her walk down our hallway, angrily exclaiming, “I hate taxes!!!” Trying not to laugh, I ran after her and asked her why, to which she responded, “Because it makes you and Baba fight.” 😂. I told her we were simply intense, trying to get our paperwork in order. Still, she walked away muttering, “I still hate taxes!”

@Brian-bp5pe 4 ай бұрын

What a very intelligent and perceptive child she was!

@milliedragon4418 4 ай бұрын

Even she couldn't handle the taxes! 😂

@SL420- 4 ай бұрын

Don't fight over taxes, there's plenty of other things to fight about.

@lseh4720 4 ай бұрын

@@SL420- Not fighting at all, just intense getting docs. :-)

@Myst109 4 ай бұрын

yet again, the big solution that no one has the BALLS to actually DO is to make lobbying illegal and stop allowing deep pockets to affect policymaking

@therealuncleowen2588 4 ай бұрын

This story is similar to the way private health insurance companies provide a service at much higher cost to Americans then the government could provide it for. Their profits hurt most Americans.

@Viconius 2 ай бұрын

Governments have never provided anything cheaply. Private companies could if the government actually had rules that lobbyists couldn't buy their way through, like all the industrial complexes in place. Taxes, Health, Military, Agriculture, Education etc. Big Business + Big Government.

@cjrreid 4 ай бұрын

The huge part this video didn't mention was that H&R Block and Intuit are huge proponents of *_why_* the tax code is so complicated in the first place. They don't only lobby *_against_* public service tax filing, they also lobby *_for_* any changes that could make the tax code more confusing.

@michaelk969 4 ай бұрын

You have the history of this issue EXACTLY backwards. First came the complicated tax code (created by politicians and lobbyists). Then came the tax programs that eased the burden of filing of tax returns. The federal income tax was instituted in 1913. IRS code and tax returns were complicated well before personal computers were available for ordinary citizens to use them to do their taxes. It is absolutely false to claim that the tax code is complicated because some companies profit from the laws created by the government.

@joeblogs6598 4 ай бұрын

@cjrreid If we got rid of the government, there'd be nothing to lobby in the first place. Have you considered this?

@MarieZh 4 ай бұрын

You probably don't understand the tax code nearly enough to actually understand how complex the tax code is.

@TheRealJBMcMunn 4 ай бұрын

When you sell vertical software it's tremendously helpful to have annual government-mandated changes. Everyone has to buy an upgrade or risk prosecution. So you bribe some politicians or Swamp bureaucrats to add or delete some billing codes, or change reimbursement calculations. Now everyone has to upgrade their financial software. They have sunk costs in your proprietary software. The upgrade costs less than a new system. It's a captive base because the hassle of changing software is conversion from one proprietary database to another and training the staff on how to use the new system. The price differential between two vertical software systems depends not only on relative merit of the program, but the cost of transition to a competing system.

@jeffa847 4 ай бұрын

Don't forget the AICPA

@mightybatillo 3 ай бұрын

This seems unreal to me. Here in Mexico you dont have to make anything unless you earn more than 400k (pesos) a year. Taxes are deducted automatically from your salary and everything you buy already has the taxes included in the price

@archangel9363 4 ай бұрын

America - the only country that slashes it's own education budget, then punishes it's people for being bad at math.

@Macphotographs 4 ай бұрын

A trillion dollars a year on education, almost 20k a student and you think money is the problem? You must have gone to public school in America.

@archangel9363 4 ай бұрын

@Macphotographs But how much of that budget goes TOWARDS actual public schools, instead of being funneled into private schools, conservative-charter schools, and for-profit colleges/universities...? Even if it's being "overfunded" it's very clearly going to the wrong places.

@Wr41thgu4rd 4 ай бұрын

Corruption is the problem, across the board.

@Macphotographs 4 ай бұрын

@@archangel9363 that's all just k-12 and according to the dept of Education, less then 8% of schools are charter. Don't let facts get in the way of your narrative though. You obviously have it all figured out.

@Barskor1 4 ай бұрын

America has not slashed the education budget ever the Teachs Union lobbies harder than any other to keep their cash cow milked.

@waikikinz 4 ай бұрын

As a non American, I am surprised how one single company could bribe (or lobby?) and continue annoying all tax payers just to make money... what the heck ? And why no politician have enough balls to make this stop ?

@mattcrouch8984 4 ай бұрын

their balls generally wind up in the pocket of someone quite quickly after coming into office if they had any to begin with

@AlecsNeo 4 ай бұрын

The US is build for companies , not for people. Land of the free ways to milk citizens

@sn5301679 4 ай бұрын

Wait till you know there plenty of similar case there, like internet, car sales, even trains. Land of "free"doom

@garzdiva 4 ай бұрын

Every politician has "balls" until the checks start coming to their campaigns and all the backdoor deals ensuring generational wealth for their families start happening. Then suddenly they find "other pressing issues" to focus on 😂.

@scottmac 4 ай бұрын

Wait til you hear about our healthcare and pharmaceutical industries

@sgt.afrobeard 4 ай бұрын

It’s interesting how the answer to the question, “why doesn’t this system work in America”, seems to 90% of the time be “because of a private company” 😂

@norman_5623 4 ай бұрын

Because of a big lobby.

@TexasRiverRat31254 4 ай бұрын

@@norman_5623 Because of both! Private companies paying lobbyists to bribe politicians. And it's all legal.

@seanzigmund858 4 ай бұрын

Intuit is a public company, not private. And if you check their stock symbol you'll see their stock is at an all time high. Corporations control our lives and it should be stopped. Politicians become lobbyists, corporate executives become politicians, lobbyists become corporate gears to drive the American machine into the pockets of the rich. It's a scam at the highest level of pyramid schemes and it's sickening. Look at our last president. Disgusting.

@jon9103 4 ай бұрын

@@norman_5623 Lobbyists are just another symptom.

@googiegress7459 4 ай бұрын

And, in a surprisingly large number of cases, the answer is also "Reagan".

@Spidertech500 4 ай бұрын

I love how the entire piece glossed over the problem that the taxes are so complex in the first place No, don't blame the IRS, don't blame regulators, don't blame Congress Blame Intuit Intuit is the minion in this story, not the head villain

@rfichokeofdestiny 4 ай бұрын

Like all of these corporatist scenarios, it's a symbiotic relationship. Accountants would still exist. Pharmaceutical companies would still exist. But the state becomes a prize to be won because the money/power is concentrated in one place. For the state's part, those businesses help keep them in power. Every successful revolution has had buy in from at least some of the upper middle class and elite. Keeping corporations happy is a way of staving that off.

@oldfreddyfrenchfry1 4 ай бұрын

Exactly, the gov makes taxes complicated and painful - I can’t change that aside from voting, so I’m stuck with that. So, the reality is that if I want the glorious convenience, I have to pay for the work a private company created to make it easier. After all, I don’t trust the gov could make a better system.

@mithicash1444 4 ай бұрын

No,it's all of the above including intuit. And on a side note, how is intuit not a monopoly?

@rfichokeofdestiny 4 ай бұрын

@@mithicash1444 Because other tax preparers exist.

@tomfeng5645 4 ай бұрын

@@oldfreddyfrenchfry1 Simple way to force gov to do better: they give a number that is binding for them, you can counter-claim. That's how it works nearly everywhere else. If you don't trust it because your situation is complicated or whatever, check the number yourself or pay a company to do that and appeal if the number is actually wrong; otherwise, if the number is about correct, it's not worth anyone's effort to recalculate it. Right now, it is in the gov interests to make it as complicated as possible since if you file too much tax, they keep it, if you file too little, they get to fine you for more than the missing amount. Turn the interests around and watch it smooth out.

@randyh801 4 ай бұрын

Imagine either scenario: 1) The IRS makes their own TurboxTax at the cost of something like $20M. The US taxpayers get a free and simply solution for filing their taxes and the IRS lays off hundreds or thousands of auditors because the number of mistakes plummets. 2) The tax code is dramatically simplified, so even a small business owner can file their taxes on their own in just an hour or two (if they've kept good records). Again, the IRS would be able to lay off hundreds or thousands of uneccesary auditors.

@charlesmills6621 2 ай бұрын

Most of the unemployed ''auditors'' can revert to their former source of income. Welfare.

@McsMark1 4 ай бұрын

This is not just Turbo Tax. There are 672,587 CPA's in America who don't want simple filing. There's H&R Block & 124,371 Tax Preparation Services businesses in the US as of 2023. That's who you're fighting.

@GenghisKahn 4 ай бұрын

Imagine investigating into Taxes and not mentioning CPAs once. These guys literally wanted to make a hit piece on Intuit and didn't even identify the true problem... Just the way we CPAs like it.

@itlabs2351 3 ай бұрын

@@GenghisKahn were you not paying attention? its called lobbying. being a cpa doesnt give any power unless youre part of a lobby. there are cpa unemployed and struggling like the rest of us. lol.

@GenghisKahn 3 ай бұрын

@@itlabs2351 I think you misinterpreted my point... In order to explain myself I now have to divulge the CPA secret sauce... Most of us are part of the AICPA and/or some local association for our state (Many firm partners have no option and are required to depending on the services they provide)... Those member dues fund a massive ton of lobbying and gatekeeping... The fact Intuit is taking the hit is hilarious given they don't have the control people think... We CPAs are like ninjas, in social environments no one cares... In one of the services we're experts in and still, no one cares...

@GenghisKahn 3 ай бұрын

@@itlabs2351 Exactly, Intuit is the massive lobbying monster. We CPAs we are just like you, unemployed and poor. We are a disorganized mess with no control.

@dennisp8520 4 ай бұрын

What’s crazy to me about taxes is that the government already knows what I owe them or what they owe me. So I don’t understand why they can’t just tell me that and just let me pay. If their is a situation where write offs are required then have a person go through the process

@shinthantmusic 4 ай бұрын

I was thinking the same thing. On a same page with you on this. The problem is with the lobbyists manipulating the Gov'.

@kyleperez4959 4 ай бұрын

One time I made a mistake filing my taxes. The IRS sent me a letter telling me that my form didn't match their own internal one, and they pointed out the exact mistake I had made and that I should make corrections. That got me a bit mad, since it meant that I've been wasting hours of my life over filling out tax forms that the government has already filled out.

@JediOfTheRepublic 4 ай бұрын

@@kyleperez4959 You should probably proof read

@JeffCaplan313 4 ай бұрын

So that rich people can lie, cheat and steal.

@JeffCaplan313 4 ай бұрын

@@kyleperez4959 The rich get richer while the poor get poorer.

@TheJackal917 3 ай бұрын

U.S. tax code is the most complicated piece of legislation ever written in the history of humanity.

@kentslocum 2 ай бұрын

Tax Season: The one time each year when I have to find a printer, stamps, and an envelope.

@isabellatorres2585 4 ай бұрын

You will never guess which company got an ad to play at the end of this video.

@ssgg23 4 ай бұрын

Yup got the same ad lmao

@hondaguy9153 4 ай бұрын

Turbo tax or H&R block?

@mac23806 4 ай бұрын

Well this is the NYtimes were talking about

@RannonSi 4 ай бұрын

@@mac23806 Unless it's part of the video, I'm pretty sure that's up to Google, and not NYT

@overshot8331 4 ай бұрын

people don't want to admit it but most people are definitely influenced by ads much more than they would like to believe.

@Xeonerable 4 ай бұрын

US taxes are overly complicated because there's a spiderweb of loopholes for rich people to maximize their savings.

@TheBUGZNTA 4 ай бұрын

All people. The rich may benefit more but even "poor" people can take advantage of the tax code. Ie tax credits for children, mortgage interest ect. If you want it to be simple submit your w-2 to the irs and thats it. It only becomes complicated if you want to take deductions to lower the amount you owe to the government.

@93runninggiraffes 4 ай бұрын

@@TheBUGZNTA .... yeah, because us poors have mortgages to pay 🙄

@espanadorada7962 4 ай бұрын

@@93runninggiraffesmaybe not, but poor people sure do make a lotta babies

@tw8464 4 ай бұрын

Exactly

@andreyd8116 4 ай бұрын

This is the truth.

@ConsciousConversations 4 ай бұрын

One of the greatest bits of journalism because it is SO NEEDED for Americans! And so relatable. This week twice I’ve been in this same headspace. And every year the same events described have occurred. And every time I walk away or cry in frustration with the whole thing, I hate Turbo tax but I’ve always felt like I had zero options.

@alor5009 4 ай бұрын

As a tax accountant it is scary to think about losing my job for the sake of my family and having to figure out another career late in life, but I have to agree with the moral issue of charging a “toll” for taxes.

@MatthewCordesEA 3 ай бұрын

I always say "As long as lawyers are in charge of creating tax law, I'll never be out of a job." If accountants were in charge, the system would be simplified and we could work on bookkeeping and accounting for small businesses.

@chuco915C 2 ай бұрын

How do you sleep at night? lol

@MatthewCordesEA 2 ай бұрын

@@chuco915C This time of year? I don't! 😂😭

@penguinking4830 4 ай бұрын

The one that always gets me is the State scam. "Congratulations on completing your Federal tax return. Now for a mere $100 more, turbo tax can roll your return into the state format and file it for you electronically right now. Your other option is to do the entire state return from scratch like you just did for the Federal Return." They wear me down every year.

@stainlesssteellemming3885 4 ай бұрын

Umm, then maybe this is a you problem, not a turbotax problem? My state return takes about 5 minutes to double check what turbo-tax has rolled over from the federal one and it's basically just clicking no/yes/continue on each page. Not to mention how much it pulls in from previous years, importing W2's etc. Pretty much been that way for over 20 years. Every year, I do the taxes for my wife and I plus two adult kids. One purchase of a "federal + 1 state" turbotax, all 3 returns use the free federal e-filing, the kids mail in their state returns (cost of two stamps and some paper/ink) and we pay the extra to efile our State return. Why do we efile our state return? Because we always get a bigger state refund than we owe on federal so it's a cash flow thing. If I owe on both, then it's paper returns all the way. The choice to pay for e-filing State is mine, not Intuit's. And I get all three returns done in a few hours.

@westlestrest6442 4 ай бұрын

@stainlesssteellemming3885 "the choice to pay is mine not Intuit's". This is what they make you believe. Why should you have to pay to file in the first place? This is what the video is talking about. This is something the government is forcing us to do "file taxes" without a free alternative

@stainlesssteellemming3885 4 ай бұрын

@@westlestrest6442 The "free" alternative is a first class stamp and an envelope. In fact, I think you can even drop them off at your local IRS office.

@westlestrest6442 4 ай бұрын

@stainlesssteellemming3885 Yeah and that's what the video was talking about. Because they make it so complicated I have to rely on this software. How am I expected to read a 120 page manual and file this correctly? That's ridiculous. If they make it this complicated then the government should be able to provide a software just as good as Intuit's with our tax money then.

@stainlesssteellemming3885 4 ай бұрын

@westlestrest6442 The vast majority of people can get away with the basic 1040EZ form, which has a perfectly good set of instructions. For those who need the traditional 1040, it stil has good instructions and, again, most people will take the standard deduction, and their taxes are simple. If your tax situation is getting complex enough that you need to read the tax code, then you probably should be thinking about an accountant, tax consultant or , yes, turbotax. And, sorry, this is the form of government we keep voting for. We WANT our politicians to make thinkgs complex in order to create loopholes for their rich friends. We must do, be cause we keep rewarding them by electing them,

@potatopirate5557 4 ай бұрын

Gee, it all came down to corporate greed and lobbying... who would have ever guessed that... in the United States. 🤯 It's just tiring at this point. 😮‍💨

@joeblogs6598 4 ай бұрын

Nope, it all comes down to the source of taxation: Government. How can you not understand this?

@twistedspine7300 4 ай бұрын

@@joeblogs6598 they are called useful idiots for a reason

@Kevin-oj2uo 4 ай бұрын

Taxation needs to exist.

@potatopirate5557 4 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-oj2uo I never said it didn't

@user-zu5do6ri6r 4 ай бұрын

Taxing income is a fine for being useful to society.

@onemoreguyonline7878 4 ай бұрын

Man, this is the type of reporting I would pay to receive. This is great.

@WelseyWalker 4 ай бұрын

I'm so happy I made productive decisions about my finances that changed my life forever,hoping to retire next year.. Investment should always be on any creative man's heart for success in life

@Ricgibs 4 ай бұрын

That's awesome!!! I know nothing about investment and I'm keen on getting started. What are the strategies?

@BulentKizilaslan 4 ай бұрын

Wow. I'm a bit perplexed seeing him been mentioned here also Didn't know he has been good to so many people too this is wonderful, i'm in my fifth trade with him and it has been super

@charles2395 4 ай бұрын

YES!!! That's exactly his name (Fergus Waylen) so many people have recommended highly about him and am just starting with him from Brisbane Australia

@nissan38p69 4 ай бұрын

I don't want to put a figure to how much i've made doing that but let's just say it's more than enough to make trading worthwhile. And when i say worthwhile, i mean it.

@ivar766 4 ай бұрын

I really want to get my life together. Really me and my family has been into series of hardship, we've faced a lot of trials and tribulations and my income is not just enough

@munyumbamutwale2985 4 ай бұрын

In Zambia we just launched our free internet portal for paying taxes and my goodness it has been the best thing for all of us. Paying taxes is now a JOY.

@munyumbamutwale2985 4 ай бұрын

@momytik We have something called the government bus that has 300 of the 1500 government services on it. they are just slowly loading the rest.

@Korodarn 4 ай бұрын

Economic freedom is low, costs of starting a business are high, currency is being devalued even by comparison to the ridiculous USD, none of those are good... but it's good you can pay those people easily I guess. And if I'm wrong about any of this, Zambia will get better and I'd be glad for it.

@victoronyemechi 4 ай бұрын

@@Korodarnwomp womp 😂 jealous much cuz they have a better filing system

@PatG-xd8qn 4 ай бұрын

@@Korodarn And they save millions in government expenses that can be reinvested elsewhere and they free tens of thousands of people who can work on other things than wasting their time filling and reviewing tax fillings. The tax system in the US and Canada is a huge waste of time and resources. It costs billions and monopolizes tens of thousands of people who waste their time doing something that could be calculated automatically.

@JediOfTheRepublic 4 ай бұрын

@@PatG-xd8qn Then go live in Zambia.

@thibaudda 3 ай бұрын

Every day I'm discovering new weird problems that America has for no reason and that nobody else on earth could have guessed

@wdmm94 4 ай бұрын

Why else would anyone expect anything different in the land of B.S. and grift????

@davidb3979 4 ай бұрын

In the UK, people aren't even asked what their taxes are. The majority of people don't ever have to think about it. Ever! This is because we use "tax codes" where the employer is told to deduct the correct tax for each person from salaries. We don't pay tax on gifts, or gambling winnings! So the tax system is designed to mean most people won't ever need to even think about taxes!

@TheRealJBMcMunn 4 ай бұрын

So they invisibly pick your pocket and you're OK with that? No wonder the Brits think their healthcare is free.

@kth6736 4 ай бұрын

I worked in UK for 6 years. The only interaction I had with HMRC was when I had to ask for a refund for my pension contributions. PAYE is awesome.

@majermike 4 ай бұрын

*land of the free

@DonaldMains 4 ай бұрын

it's the same in the US, the employer is told to deduct the correct tax for each person from salaries. The only complication is when there is income earned from non-reportable sources; income from rentals, etc. True, for the 70% of Americans who can file a 1040EZ it could be easier.

@CanadianEhHole 4 ай бұрын

That's called a withholding tax and it works the same way in most countries, including the US. While it makes taxes easier, it limits the public's knowledge of how much they're actually paying in taxes. Funny that this video comes out about making taxes more simplified when the NYT, among many others, mocked politicians like Rand Paul and Herman Cain who've suggested making the tax law only a few pages, simplifying the laws themselves which would simplify the process. Just another case of the NYT mocking solutions and then complaining about the problem those solutions would've fixed.

@Tensei888 4 ай бұрын

“The government cannot be trusted to tell Americans how much they owe in taxes” But they’re ok with IRS confirming whether the amount TurboTax has prepped for you is correct, because IRS has the original data (if you work for an employer), they did the math, and they have the final say on the correct taxation amount.

@norman_5623 4 ай бұрын

It really is entertaining to watch these PR firms come up with an excuse to justify their client taking more money from you.

@TheRisky9 4 ай бұрын

This begs the question, if the firm messed up the taxes, am I on the hook for that? Are there any repercussions for the firm that did those taxes wrong?

@funnyfarm5555 4 ай бұрын

I have long been an advocate for a 'flat tax'. It will work for most people, but the more one does to increase their income by investing and such, then it starts getting complicated. I think the flat tax would still work, maybe with investments too. I still think that there should be a national portal. I spend a lot of time getting all the information together, putting it in a spreadsheet and then visiting my income tax preparer/submitter. A tax preparer I used to use made a mistake on my taxes a few years back and cost me about 12 hours of time and a trip to the state tax office, and creating an online tax account. Last year the State tax office made me submit all my W-2's and 1099's again after having the tap prep do it through their computer system. They said they needed to verify that the taxes were actually paid. Why does the employer and companies send the information to them?; for toilet paper? I got my refund four months later. There has to be an easier way for Americans to pay taxes.

@Redmanticore 4 ай бұрын

this counts as taxation, too: "turbo tax Full-Service, premium : $379 Federal $64 Per State "

@user-zu5do6ri6r 4 ай бұрын

We are not ok with the IRS under any set of circumstances.

@markrussell4682 4 ай бұрын

In Germany, you get a card from the taxing authority that states what you've earned, how much you owe in taxes, and how much you've paid. You either sign showing that you agree, or you claim an error, and you put it in the mail.

@Shadowguy456234 3 ай бұрын

This is actually simpler than the case in Switzerland. I guess, not everything is better here... ;)

@hannahwatkins7992 2 ай бұрын

This is so eye opening, and upsetting. Thank you for bringing this to light.

@nlocnil3602 4 ай бұрын

In what other country can a company directly pay government officials to push an agenda openly and its not viewed as corruption? How are Americans so comfortable with the concept of Lobbying and the use of it as normal?

@SladeShadows 4 ай бұрын

We aren't comfortable with it it's a combination of lack of money/power or interest in politics and live in America being a loose representation of the proletariat class referenced in Goerge Orwell 1984 compounded with other factors.

@kingduckford 4 ай бұрын

Every last country on the face of the earth. Are you naive?

@nigachu8249 4 ай бұрын

New York times is one of them.

@MonkeyMind69 4 ай бұрын

We are not comfortable with it. However, too many people lack the introspection to realize their own cognitive dissonance around the subject, or they are cowards, unwilling to challenge the status quo of government through civil disobedience or outright revolt. People have been coddled into thinking it's someone else's problem to deal with, unwilling to take any responsibility themselves. Same goes for "income-taxes". The United States was founded over the rebellion of a simple tea tax ...and now, U.S. citizens are taxed nearly 40% of their income through various obvious and not so obvious means. Try this simple mental exercise.... First, ask yourself what is sIavery, and I mean REALLY comprehend it ...then understand that Income tax is *laboring for the government under threat of punishment if you don't comply.* Notice any similarities?

@ernestz.9260 4 ай бұрын

It’s just there’s too much money to be made and those in power do a really good job framing it as a partisan issue (eg “socialism”, “govt overreach”). With how social media and mainstream news sensationalizes things to make people react negatively to things, and hence why honest opinions are not being common in discourse.

@IndigoEuphonium 4 ай бұрын

Imagine being so despicable people actually wanna side with the IRS

@violenthunter. 4 ай бұрын

this. this right here.

@googiegress7459 4 ай бұрын

Turbotax undoubtedly has a cadre of telemarketers. These are the most hated of the Turbotax employees. What if one of them was a pedophile who talked on his cell phone in theaters? Surely this most unlikeable and horrible person will be the GOP presidential nominee.

@yossimahler4650 4 ай бұрын

Only if you're a big media propaganda machine.

@ceosgamer016_5 4 ай бұрын

@@yossimahler4650yeah, yeah everything that shuld conser American people is propaganda ok bot

@Redmanticore 4 ай бұрын

technically Internal Revenue Service itself could be disbanded when taxes would be handled automatically. simple automation would also catch the wealthiest, over half of all unpaid taxes are attributable to the top 5% of earners.(Source: U.S. Department of Treasury; Estimates from 2019) it is strange if TurboTax has _that_ much power over government, since our experience from europe is that simple taxation also increases tax revenues. turbo tax only provides some millions into lobbying few guys, but increased tax revenues would be billions.

@skenzyme81 4 ай бұрын

Leave it to a MidLib to whinge about process instead of standing for principle. What a loser.

@delphic464 4 ай бұрын

Me: Do you know how much I made last year and how much tax I owe you? Govt: Of course! Me: Great! How much is that? Govt: Oh, you need to work that your for yourself by completing incredibly complicated forms and paying someone else to help you. Me: Ok. What if I make a mistake Govt: You might go to jail if the number you get is different from the number we have.

@noseraph 4 ай бұрын

I'm a paid tax preparer. Every year most of the folks who come into my office have pretty basic tax situations and I can crank each out in about an hour. I normally only get a handful of clients with complex returns and these are usually small business owners who don't have their own accountant and need to do things like calculate depreciation. My point is that 95% of the returns I do are simple ones that people could have done themselves if they had half a brain, but most people are so intimidated that they won't even try it.

@PatG-xd8qn 4 ай бұрын

And all of this could be made automatically. As an accountant myself, I think that the North American tax system (it's the same here in Canada as un the US) is a huge waste of time and resources. It's way too complex for nothing and those who actually need all the tax credits generally aren't even aware that they can claim it.

@itsbazyli 4 ай бұрын

I don't think it's just about being intimidated. Some people might simply prefer to delegate in order to save time, and focus on other things that are more important in life. Even if they can indeed do it themselves, it would take them more than the hour it takes for you, because they don't do hundreds of returns every year, like you do.

@tw8464 4 ай бұрын

Most people don't have time to deal with it. Think of all the forms and red tape Americans have to go through now. It keeps getting added to constantly by the armies of special interests. Then think of how busy they are working low paying "jobs" and trying to raise kids, etc.

@chublez 4 ай бұрын

@tw8464 for many Americans who only worked one job and make avg or less it's one form. One. It's really not that hard to file a 1040. Only people who have never tried think it's some crazy mountain of papers. You need your wage statement(s) and a 1040 preferably on a computer cause it's 2024 but you do you and you'll be done in about an hour. But go pay the tax pro 5x yer burger king rate instead since it's hard. Edit: to be clear other countries do it better and we should also but a basic 1040 filling is easy the first time, easier the second, almost automatic the third. Only the top 15% or better usually have tax situations that start to get genuinely complicated.

@twistedspine7300 4 ай бұрын

@@itsbazyli that's a very generous interpretation of the situation. the truth is, people are just way too lazy to put any effort into caring about their taxes or finances. they'd rather spend that time complaining in the comment section of a propagandized youtube video by the new york times.

@izay99 4 ай бұрын

The turbo tax ad right after this video... 10/10 😂

@garrettboes3602 4 ай бұрын

Thank You for doing a video on this! Great work

@marih3286 4 ай бұрын

So true. Thank you for confirming our suspicions...

@emiliog.4432 4 ай бұрын

TurboTax charged me $170 for the privilege of owing the government back taxes.

@overshot8331 4 ай бұрын

same. last year I tried Turbotax because I saw ads where they claimed they were free but they weren't. The website I found out from irs.gov free file allowed me to file taxes for free. The process was very similar to turbo tax except didn't have to pay hundreds for a simple federal and state return.

@nikc1313 4 ай бұрын

America is wild. It's like the end boss of capitalism.

@nlocnil3602 4 ай бұрын

I think even the final boss is afraid of American level of government greed and capitalism. It has ascended into the next dimension

@mrizaldi7199 4 ай бұрын

Well said.

@phishphood423 4 ай бұрын

Japan actually might be worse. But still, pretty wild.

@nlocnil3602 4 ай бұрын

@@phishphood423 not in this lifetime pal. There is zero chance Japan is worse

@phishphood423 4 ай бұрын

@@nlocnil3602 Unnecessarily condescending, but thanks for the input I guess? Japanese capitalism is just different - comprised of cartels and intimate relationships. In some ways it is harder to regulate than American capitalism for that reason.

@kirashirou904 3 ай бұрын

“free” = $100+ every year if you file anything beyond a basic w-2

@hbarudi 4 ай бұрын

1. Corporations pass laws in their favor to remain in business instead of allowing the government to pass laws people want such as simplified income tax. Of course the IRS and the government can do things better if there is less things on the tax return, the tax rate is a flat rate for all incomes, and stop listening to corporate lobbyists in congress and make sure congress passes the needed bills on this. 2. Employees should be paying the income taxes not employers.

@probablynotian 4 ай бұрын

"Taxation without representation" turned into "taxation so complicated there's an entire industry built around the fact that you can't do it on your own."

@matthewboyer4212 4 ай бұрын

and still without representation if you're living abroad! expats still pay federal taxes until they renounce their citizenship, we and only 4 other countries do this and because of the electrical college, they can't vote in presidential elections

@joeblogs6598 4 ай бұрын

Taxation has always been theft.

@PharticusMcbutt 4 ай бұрын

It’s just like the National Association of Realtors. Their professional services are no longer needed in the modern era so in order to stay in business they overcomplicate the industry. Absolute BS

@ferrellssales180 4 ай бұрын

What's crazy is, they *already know* your tax information for the year. But instead of submitting it automatically like dozens of other developed nations, the onus is on regular non-tax professional citizens to make sure the numbers match up. Insane system. Paid tax services should only be for landlords and business owners.

@ivandankob7112 4 ай бұрын

Or just pay Intuit to do taxes for you; that’s the whole point of a video

@BikeHelmetMk2 4 ай бұрын

@@ivandankob7112 Most tax prep software and tax prep places miss things. A few times I have paid two places to do it, to see what the results were, but only got one to submit. It was always better to go for an accountant that costs 4 digits. They find ridiculously more writeoffs and resubmission tricks ("let's just move xxx from 2017 to 2019... there we go") and suddenly your income is lower and your tax burden evaporates. If you have stocks, real estate, a business - pay a professional, or you'll miss some useful legal loopholes.

@lishan6199 4 ай бұрын

Intuit charges $30 or more dollars for any simple filing if you make over a certain amount, I could see $5 or $10 but $30+ at the minimum!@@ivandankob7112

@Jay_in_Japan 4 ай бұрын

"Landlords and business owners" I smell a tankie

@victorchen9170 4 ай бұрын

@@ivandankob7112 Why pay in the first place?

@MiniaturePlayer 4 ай бұрын

We are so not a republic or democracy the more greed is allowed to rule our leadership. Makes me kinda sad.

@user-zs1fr7im6l 4 ай бұрын

10% FLAT TAX FOR EVERYONE NO DEDUCTIONS !

@billpetersen298 4 ай бұрын

This rhymes with. Why is healthcare twice as expensive, and not blanket coverage? Prisons, military, etc.

@roadracerdave7645 4 ай бұрын

'murica!!!

@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing 4 ай бұрын

The Legal system is the biggest industry designed as a public service, ever. The legal system exists for the Lawyers, not the Law.

@mattsberlioz 4 ай бұрын

As an Estonian, I can't imagine ever doing taxes like in the US. Usually I'm done with about 4 clicks which take me about 2 minutes (if I actually check the information).

@Korodarn 4 ай бұрын

Also has a higher rank on economic freedom, so Estonia seems like it would be nice overall, in the long term.

@seanthe100 4 ай бұрын

Do y'all get tax refunds?

@carkawalakhatulistiwa 4 ай бұрын

Only US do this

@JediOfTheRepublic 4 ай бұрын

This guys is really turning mountains into molehils. The average american, it's only a few clicks. It's if you own a business or have multiple jobs side hustles does it become a bit more complicated.

@mattsberlioz 4 ай бұрын

@@seanthe100 yes

@notatheist 4 ай бұрын

"...and each president has made the same promise. Bush, Obama, and now Biden..." A few years were skipped in there somewhere. It’s blurry, but I do remember something about gas prices being under $2.00 per gallon. I can’t put my finger on it. Who was that, again?

@talkingmudcrab718 4 ай бұрын

Keep in mind our Founding Fathers fought a war and bled on the field of battle over this.

@jgallone 4 ай бұрын

Wasn't the "without representation" the key part of that? The problem is our elected representatives are just corrupt and greedy. Or maybe you're referring to something else.

@knutthompson7879 4 ай бұрын

"We know how much you owe, but you need to tell us. If you get it wrong, we punish you and you pay us more or even arrest you."

@jd_real1 4 ай бұрын

The IRS DOES have a guided online tax filing system for people who make less than 79,000. It’s called IRS free file.

@funtechu 4 ай бұрын

CashApp Tax is free for Federal and State regardless of how much you make

@rao8559 4 ай бұрын

So we have a kek profile shilling for the IRS. I suppose that this characters fanbase in a nutshell

@suckithardnfast 4 ай бұрын

@@rao8559 If you want to continue to pay Intuit your hard earned money, be my guest. Nobody said the government is going to shut down Intuit. Simply that there should be a free version instead. These corporations don't care about you! The only shill I see here is you. The IRS is not a boogeyman. Stop watching Fox News and get out more.

@marycalderon3837 4 ай бұрын

Found it. Thanks

@Shadowguy456234 2 ай бұрын

Doesn't work if you live abroad unfortunately.@@funtechu

@peterbyykkonen8901 4 ай бұрын

It is genuinely infuriating that we have to take a test for the government so we can answer their questions that they already have the answers to.

@david3199 4 ай бұрын

And that's why turbo tax has been involved in a federal lawsuit

@danschoenharl3856 4 ай бұрын

This is criminal! As an independent contractor, with a modest income, I spend $450.00 a year on tax prep and lose at least a days work, but probably much more, in the process of filing my taxes. I never claimed to be an accountant. In 1998, when I worked in Sweden, I simply received a summary letter for my taxes. That was nice, and though taxes were high, you got a lot for it. If the IRS, or more to the point our representatives, could get it together they could serve the tax payers and likely increase their revenue, while reliving Americans of this absurd accounting burden. Of course I'm going to pay my taxes, just stop torturing me with bureaucracy already!

@jimenealtd7113 4 ай бұрын

If your tax accountant isn't saving you that $450 fee (which is a deduction) in your taxes and in your time vs you doing it yourself, then your tax accountant isn't worth crap.

@danschoenharl3856 4 ай бұрын

My accountant does a fine job. I think you missed the point. I'm not trying to get out of paying my fair share, but assert that for citizens the US tax system is unnecessarily complicated, costly, time-consuming, bureaucratic and burdensome. @@jimenealtd7113

@insu_na 4 ай бұрын

@@jimenealtd7113he literally said he didn't have an accountant, can you read? Also great idea, let's pay an accountant $400 so he can get me a tax refund of $300

@jimenealtd7113 4 ай бұрын

@@insu_na I can read and you can't, dope. He said this, "I spend $450.00 a year on tax prep and lose at least a days work, but probably much more, in the process of filing my taxes. I never claimed to be an accountant." Which means he paid an accountant $450 to do his self-employment tax return and had to take off a day to get it done. Then you stupidly say, "Also great idea, let's pay an accountant $400 so he can get me a tax refund of $300." So how about you don't pay an accountant who could get you a refund of $300, and do the self-employment return that you really don't understand yourself, and end up paying $1000 or whatever in taxes instead of getting any refund? Dumb Bunnies like you overpaying taxes because you're "penny-wise and pound-foolish" is what the IRS likes.

@burlypenguin 4 ай бұрын

"a free filing software to low-income Americans but in their blog post announcing this they claimed that they're still committed to making a free filing platform nobody should believe that Intuit is ever going to seriously commit to offering a free version of its Core Business that would be suicidal for a company ." Now apply the same logic to politicians and their self interest.

@failtolawl 4 ай бұрын

IRS has free tools, that don't take any of your backpay, on their website.

@lamMeTV 4 ай бұрын

Don't you dare drag Johnny by calling him a journalist. He actually researches, consuslts with sources and fact checks.

@user-tk5ir1hg7l 4 ай бұрын

"you have to pay to figure out how much to pay me for stuff you didn't subscribe to, and if I say later that its too little, youll have to pay fines or go to jail" - gov

@akgarada 4 ай бұрын

The issue is not that there is a free version, but is that the free version only does 1040EZ (only standarized deductions) and no state tax returns for free. It is essentially not free for most people who pay taxes.

@shaunlavalley1131 4 ай бұрын

It also doesn’t cover the form you get if you had to go on unemployment.

@oldsocrates 4 ай бұрын

*_"only does 1040EZ "_* Um, you are totally clue less. FYI, the 1040-EZ was discontinued in 2018 buddy.

@nixon2tube 4 ай бұрын

IRS Free file does everything on a 1040. I use it every year. EZ was never supported on it, and really EZ only handicapped people anyway.

@amyturpen4726 4 ай бұрын

Free file DOES also include state return, at least for Oregon. Haven't paid a dime since I started filing that way.

@braceyourselvesfortruth2492 4 ай бұрын

Sounds like you would potentially have a beef with your state government. Mine, Colorado, allows me to file on their website for free.

@finalGambitShedinja 2 ай бұрын

absolutely unfathomable that you could call something free, then require payment, and not be smitten out of business

@katehu7194 4 ай бұрын

Enjoy your settlement pay, Johnny! You deserve so much more for your excellent educational content❤😊

@RandyRhode-yq5hq 4 ай бұрын

Every bill effecting taxes should be known as "The Attorney and Accountants Relief Act". I heard that at an attorney and accounting continuing education course in 1978.

@brianfong5711 4 ай бұрын

affecting

@ciaolife 4 ай бұрын

Most people in the UK just have tax and insurance come out of their salary. Our online system if you need to fill in a tax return is very easy

@JayYu-lr4ro 4 ай бұрын

UK is awful, you need to lie on your credit report questions to match whatever outdated info is shown on one of 3 random credit reporting agencies, they fail to recognise your drivers license, and so on!

@theweirdsideofreddit3079 4 ай бұрын

@@JayYu-lr4ro What are you on about? We just have our tax and NI contributions taken directly off our payslip and get a check mailed to you at the end of the financial year if you paid too much. It's only a pain in the backside if you run a business.

@JayYu-lr4ro 4 ай бұрын

@@theweirdsideofreddit3079 it’s the same pain for savings interest, capital gains, property rental, self employment, immigrant workers and so on

@leo_warren 4 ай бұрын

@@JayYu-lr4ro Hardly - Most people won't hit the declaration thresholds for savings, especially if they use ISAs. Even for self employment Self-Assessment is done within half-hour to half a day depending on business size. Immigration status doesn't matter for employees as they should be processed through PAYE. For most people PAYE is fine.

@JayYu-lr4ro 4 ай бұрын

@@leo_warren normal savings accounts go up to 8% in the UK, while ISAs are closer to 2%! Online Self-assessment is a big disaster if you fail the highly experimental authentication schemes on gov.uk PAYE can even fail to register for those with right to work!

@RadioIlluminaticom 4 ай бұрын

I'm from Denmark. The world's highest tax country. Everyday I focus on my mission of living a life without taxes legally. Yes I will have to move to another country.

@SD-hs2pk 4 ай бұрын

Making a promise is not the same as making an effort!

@3p1cand3rs0n 4 ай бұрын

I cleverly avoid all this hassle by having so little income that I don't even owe taxes. It's a bold strategy and i'm sure it will pay off for me. 🤓

@Bloom2Grow 4 ай бұрын

Then how do you survive on so little income????

@KrisHughes 4 ай бұрын

Good question, but I'm the same. I survive by spending as little as possible. @@Bloom2Grow

@mrjgilbert 4 ай бұрын

@@Bloom2Grow It’s self-deprecating humor. “Good thing I’m so poor I don’t have rich people problems” is something people say as a joke. But OP said it way better and in the context of the video 😊

@Rust_Rust_Rust 4 ай бұрын

But now you're broke 😂

@8ofwands300 4 ай бұрын

😂😂

@leothelion69 4 ай бұрын

All my homies hate TurboTax. Shout-out FreeTaxUSA 🇺🇸

@Buttersausage 4 ай бұрын

Yup

@ooogyman 4 ай бұрын

I use FreeTaxUSA, and although I do pay an extra $16 for them to auto-fill my state tax return, it's a WAY better deal than anything Intuit provides.

@Beskie 4 ай бұрын

I use the same!! 🎉

@CosmoSkerry 4 ай бұрын

Cash App Taxes is free too.

@Shadowguy456234 4 ай бұрын

Won't work if you live abroad unfortunately.

@ThePhaiden 4 ай бұрын

Great work here!

@bes03c 4 ай бұрын

As an American working abroad, it is easier to file my taxes in Korea than for my taxes in the US for income I do not earn in the US.

@mortizzle4149 4 ай бұрын

How many Americans enter all their deductions only to find that standard deduction is better. Taxes could be so simple for majority of Americans since the government already knows our income, dependents, and could just opt for standard deduction by default and send us a bill/refund.

@jon9103 4 ай бұрын

@@momytiknope, people are forced to go through the lengthy tax return process even though most select the standard deduction.

@violenthunter. 4 ай бұрын

the standard deduction went way up in 2018 due to the combining of the old standard deduction and the exemption amounts. i believe this is due to expire in 2025. so be sure to always enter those expenses, especially if you know something changed. but yeah, living in texas makes it harder due to the lack of state tax. better than living in maryland, trust me.

@MarieZh 4 ай бұрын

The government doesn't know how many dependents you have. Think about children of divorced parents who have a separate agreement about who gets to claim the children each year. However, this would be an easy input for people to make on the government filing system. Also people who are self-employed -- (government doesn't know that). I just want to convey that there is a lot of nuance for tax situations. The people who would benefit from this kind of file system are people who have only W2 income.

@yvr2002rtw 4 ай бұрын

@@MarieZh In some countries, they have what is called a "family registry". You have to register the details of who your family members are with the government and keep a "family book".

@MarieZh 4 ай бұрын

@@yvr2002rtwchild dependents can extend beyond your direct descendants. For example for the child tax credit, in some scenarios tax payers can claim their niece, nephews, brother, sister, grandchildren, step-siblings, etc. Family scenarios can get complicated, which complications would doubtfully be successfully be registered by the US federal government. Claiming dependents was far more nuanced when we had individual exemptions- which was temporarily eliminated under TCJA and set to return in 2026. 😝

@irtwiaos 4 ай бұрын

The whole point of doing returns is so rich people can go through the loopholes to reduce their taxes from itemized returns. 90% of tax payers just take the standard deduction that the irs.can just send us a bill/return.

@tylerjhunter 4 ай бұрын

Spoiler alert: the government will, in fact, _not_ make things right.

@mchervino 4 ай бұрын

I haven’t used a tax service in years. I file for free straight from the IRS website. It’s pretty simple. The biggest pain is just verifying my identity and filing out the W-2 section. But it’s 100% free and this year it took me about 20 minutes total.

@radidov5333 4 ай бұрын

can you teach me how

@silentstorm5439 4 ай бұрын

It's only free if you make under X amount, everyone else gets screwed

@yossimahler4650 4 ай бұрын

Yeah it's not hard. I do not even understand the point of this video.

@mchervino 4 ай бұрын

@@yossimahler4650 it seemed like a contrived issue to whine about. Nothing more.

@larryjones9773 4 ай бұрын

@@radidov5333 It's called Free File Fillable Forms.

@mf-- 4 ай бұрын

Lobbying is so terrible in so many ways.

@ChannelSho 4 ай бұрын

"The government can't be trusted to know how much Americans owe the government." Oh, I'm pretty sure the government knows.

@MrKennyblv 4 ай бұрын

Paying taxes should never be this complex

@mrcrhartman 4 ай бұрын

You can easily file electronically, but even the same form online is too complicated for most people who have jobs and lives to deal with.

@secretlycanine 4 ай бұрын

I've heard about this problem in so many different publications over the year, yet nothing seems to change.

@mithicash1444 4 ай бұрын

I have heard a lot of people brag about how much they get back from tax return and I always think, "Cogratulations, you lent the government all that money throughout the year for free." Like an interest free loan.

@shink9844 4 ай бұрын

I’m a tax attorney. Filing taxes doesn’t have to cost money. Most people with basic wage and interest income and basic deductions like mortgage interest can do it themselves easily if they spend an hour or so. You can go online and download the forms and instructions for free, which you can mail in. I’ve never paid to file my taxes, but it does take a bit of effort. But It is figuring out what deductions, credits apply and how to fill out the forms properly that are complex. The reason for the complications is bc of how the govt uses the tax code to enact policy and conduct spending. If we moved to flat tax rate with limited deductions and credits, that would simplify things. But Americans have to cease trying to get policy enacted with the tax code. For example, the deduction for home interest expense… for home office expenses, etc. Also deductions for retirement plans, and tax credits for things like EVs, solar, child tax credit… etc. Most Americans don’t want these to go away. Then there is the alternative minimum tax which is like a second tax return that you have to fill out to see if results in more taxes than your normal return. It would be great if this went away also (I don’t know of any other country that has this), but most Americans would not support this as doing away with it would be pitched as letting the rich pay less. A lot of it also stems from the existence of a capital gains tax, which some countries don’t have at all.

@evanbauer 4 ай бұрын

In addition, a needed simplification of the tax code would remove much of the cost of filing as well as remove many of the opportunities for tax cheats to steal from all of us.

@LG-pt5kt 4 ай бұрын

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE KIDS IN THE BACK

@user-zu5do6ri6r 4 ай бұрын

We could end the income tax.

@anglaismoyen 4 ай бұрын

@@user-zu5do6ri6rjust tax land

@tedjones-ho2zk 4 ай бұрын

After two temporary income taxes - one of which was deemed unconstitutional - the income tax was intentionally made permanent by the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1913

@Redmanticore 4 ай бұрын

before income taxation, the old time governments took their taxes from import and export tariffs, which was a form of taxation on all people. it greatly hindered progress of free trade.

@user-zu5do6ri6r 4 ай бұрын

Import and export tariffs never ended, and did not decrease.

@etatauri 4 ай бұрын

Imagine going to a grocery store, and before you enter the store you need to give them a hundred bucks. Then when you've picked up your groceries, you need to tally the total yourself, applying any coupons, 2 for 1 specials, club discounts, taxes on items that needs applied. After that you subtract the money you already gave the store and figure out who owes who. Then if you screwed up, they punish you as if you are a criminal. And if you don't want the hassle, you have to hire your own grocer.

@Dan_Tj 4 ай бұрын

This kind of content is the reason I subscribe to the New York Times

@robertherlihy917 4 ай бұрын

Treat the IRS a smidge more like the DMV.

@pyrho1 4 ай бұрын

Of course the reason we have to struggle with super complicated taxes every year is because of corporate greed and lobbying. I hate this country sometimes.

@paws315 4 ай бұрын

Citizens United made this country the opposite of great. MAGA missed that this whole time 😂

@Idontwannahandl 4 ай бұрын

The government creates a system, people come in to work within that system... And somehow you're not blaming the government for it? Strongly propagandized

@paws315 4 ай бұрын

@@Idontwannahandl Personally I do blame the govt for allowing lobbying to pervert the people’s interests to such a blatant degree. It’s an awful and completely avoidable status quo

@e.c.5994 4 ай бұрын

So . . . the video explains quite clearly a particular problem that may be solved: gatekeeping of the filing systems by private companies. However, the super complicated tax system is still a government, not a corporate, problem. Our tax system is still so incredibly broken in so many ways that this doesn't even begin to address the real issues; creating a portal where you can file your taxes for free is like sticking duct tape on a failing dam and expecting that'll make it all better.

@nevermind4679 4 ай бұрын

Well said. The fact that the IRS is perennially underfunded, and always in danger of having its funding cut further, doesn't help. @@e.c.5994