pixel_of_moral_decay t1_jdorh9j wrote on March 26, 2023 at 12:26 AM

I just put a stamp on an envelope and mail it in.

Tax processing is also a jobs program for many states. Getting rid of it from a politicians perspective is a negative since it eliminates a government jobs that serve predominantly lower income workers. There's not much skill it's basically scanning and handling processing machines, it's a basic data entry job. It also happens to be during a critical time of the year jobs wise. There's a gap between the winter surge in labor demand and the summer surge in labor demands tax season nicely fills.

I'd rather just e-file if it were free, but I absolutely wouldn't pay more than a postage stamp for the ability.

What's silly is e-filing is still not instant. There's an artificial delay injected in there, even though something like 99% of returns are processed instantly. For the vast majority of people they have all the info before you even send it in.

Which raises the point: for most people the whole process shouldn't be necessary, you should just get a statement and file if you have a disagreement/something to add.

CarpeDiemCaveCanem t1_jdp9c89 wrote on March 26, 2023 at 2:46 AM

I agree that tax filing should be that: verifying, and just signing off if everything looks good.

There's a good planet money episode about the mess Intuit fights to maintain by lobbying in state and federal assemblies.

I also understand the argument for keeping jobs... But only to a certain extent. I'd honestly rather pay the unskilled worker to stay home and think about a way to be happy and maybe pursue a passion or an intersting job by which they would make the world a better place, rather than conditioning their pay by spending time at a mind numbing job that is annoying everyone.

E-file is the future. I work for the payroll industry, and it's pretty incredible to see how little tax agencies are keeping up to pace with technology. Some agencies still use floppy disks for SUI rate exchanges...

scubastefon OP t1_jdqfw0l wrote on March 26, 2023 at 11:36 AM

That kind of jobs program is called “dead weight loss,” it’s not really a sustainable approach, and adds significant friction to a system.

VanWorst t1_jdr0bzk wrote on March 26, 2023 at 2:46 PM

Anyone remember NJWebFile? Up until a few years ago, you could spend maybe 15 minutes to fill in your info and it would do your NJ taxes and file them for you without costing a dime. Then they got rid of it and replaced it with horrible mostly-manual forms. Victory for the Intuit/HRBlock lobbyists.