Tax Filing Could Be So Much Easier
April 16, 2024
When you advocate for K-12 403(b) reform, nothing should shock you about the depths to which financial companies will sink to extract money from Americans. John Bogle called it financial engineering. That's putting it kindly I think. Probabably one of the few issues that could unite Americans right now is tax frustration. I am not talking about tax rates. I'm talking about tax filing. What should be a quick, simple process for most is not.
Government Already Has the Data
Why on earth do we have to assemble paper forms to compile our taxes? Why do we have to download a 1098 Mortgage Interest Statement? Fun fact: My mortgage holder recently changed hands from the American Financial Network to, checks notes, the American Financial Network. I kid you not. It was literally the same company (different department, I was told. What?) yet I had to set up a new online account and payment method. For a good chunk of February I could not access my 1098 Mortgage Interest Statement due to the transition. I digress...
Mortgage companies give our information to the federal governemnt. Our employers give our salary and tax information to the federal government. Etc. Etc. Etc. In much of the world filing taxes is simple and free. Actually in countries like Sweden, Denmark and dozens of others, the government DOES the tax preparation. Sigh.
Despite bipartisan effort by the Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush 2.0, and Obama administrations, filing taxes remains time consuming and something most of us pay for. Why?
When It Comes to Free and Simple Tax Filing One Company Just Isn't Intuit
I could recite the history and nuance of how we got to where we are, but I think the video below by The New York Times is so brilliant and well done that it's the best way to learn about this issue.
Video: There’s a Tax Season Villain, and It’s Not the I.R.S. (NYT Opinion)
Bonus resourse: Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free
Super Advertising Madness
Now you know why Intuit floods the advertising zone during the Super Bowl (tax forms are in the mail or available for download) and during March Madness (Americans are knee-deep filling out more than tournament brackets). This is fun: How TurboTax is Using March Madness to Reach College Students.
Not one of my favorite TV "teachers"!
Glimmer of Good News
Direct File, the government's TurboTax alternative, was rolled out this year. While not perfect, it's been described as a move in the right direction. Read more here Meet Direct File.
Stay wise and well (and let's hope Intuit doesn't roll out a 403(b) product).
