I.R.S. to Begin Trial of Its Own Free Tax-Filing System
I.R.S. to Begin Trial of Its Own Free Tax-Filing System
Residents of 12 states are eligible to participate if they meet certain criteria. But the agency’s plans have already met resistance from tax preparation companies.
Residents of 12 states are eligible to participate if they meet certain criteria. But the agency’s plans have already met resistance from tax preparation companies.
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So I'm an American expat living in Australia. Australia has had the option to file directly to ATO, electronically, longer than I've been here. (Google suggests since 1999? So, more than 20 years.) It's an easy process if you have a straightforward tax return.
It never ceases to amaze me how far behind the rest of the world USA is in some things that just seem like really obvious solutions. Like... Why wouldn't the IRS want to get tax returns filed directly from the tax payers, skipping the middleman? At least for simple returns. More simplicity, less confusion all around if they get everyone onto the same system. Less paper to wade through, by significantly reducing paper returns. Etc.
It just seems like such a no-brainer. But I guess that's why it doesn't work in the USA. >.<
Why wouldn’t the IRS want to get tax returns filed directly from the tax payers,
I’m sure they would but some well-funded lobbyists have decided that excluding the free market would be detrimental to The American Way of Life™️