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The FTC has banned TurboTax from advertising that it provides free tax filing unless they make their entire program 100% free to all users. They also have to provide in clear terms what qualifies for a free filing before customers even start the filing process. The FTC alleges that about half of the people who use TurboTax don't actually qualify for free filing, but aren't made aware until the very end of the process and they are likely to just pay the fee rather than redo everything. Additionally, TurboTax must stop using advertising that claims or implies that filers will get tax credits using their software that they may not get elsewhere. quote:FTC bans TurboTax from advertising ‘free’ services, calls it deceptive https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/22/business/ftc-turbotax-free-services/index.html
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Jan 23, 2024 16:00
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Trump apparently not appreciating Tim Scott's recent engagement to his secret girlfriend. https://twitter.com/KateSullivanDC/status/1749621087564915153
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Jan 23, 2024 16:03
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Edgar Allen Ho posted:Execution is morally wrong because it's loving wrong, but they aren't lying when they say this modern gas chamber works. That it hypothetically could work does not mean it would work when they do it, because the problem is not and has never been the process mechanics but rather the sort of people doing it and the mismatched incentives for how it should be done.
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Jan 23, 2024 16:08
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mobby_6kl posted:Some smaller-scale good law-news that I don't think got any attention: What exactly happened here, procedurally? They asked everyone in voir dire whether they could fairly consider the question of whether someone illegally fed the homeless and every last one said no? haveblue fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Jan 23, 2024 |
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Jan 23, 2024 16:09
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haveblue posted:What exactly happened here, procedurally? They asked everyone in voir dire whether they could fairly consider the question of whether someone illegally fed the homeless and every last one said no? Not all of them, but a large chunk of them said they wouldn't levy the fine regardless and several more people said they couldn't stay late for a trial because of family/medical/work issues, so they didn't have enough people to move forward.
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Jan 23, 2024 16:19
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Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:Trump apparently not appreciating Tim Scott's recent engagement to his secret girlfriend. Trump doesn't want to restart the Apprentice, he wants to host his own version of The Bachelor.
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Jan 23, 2024 16:25
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Honestly one of the underrated traits that a politician must have is the ability to just eat an unbelievable amount of poo poo. Just whatever they are serving up, you are taking it. Tim Scott bends the knee to Trump enthusiastically and Trump's still implying that he's gay. He's not going to come out tomorrow and say, "Trump shouldn't have said that about me" he's either going to ignore the questions or dodge them, while massively talking up a man who hates and belittles him. Ted Cruz can eat more poo poo than any politician alive and that's why we can't get rid of him. https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1749600095413145890 This is baffling to me, now you're bucking Trump after it no longer matters? zoux fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Jan 23, 2024 |
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Jan 23, 2024 16:41
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It's easy to send a tweet when he's feeling sad, but he'll do whatever he's told
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Jan 23, 2024 16:55
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Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:The FTC has banned TurboTax from advertising that it provides free tax filing unless they make their entire program 100% free to all users. TurboTax tried to get me to file paying them $90, the free filing button I think is only at the beginning of the filing process, at any other point they want you to pay at minimum $30 if you get lost and miss the free option. I'm sure somebody has broken down how they screw people with the design of the site itself.
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Jan 23, 2024 16:59
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The IRS is about to launch its own free file service too, these are dark days for Turbo Tax https://twitter.com/SecYellen/status/1748434625385349223
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Jan 23, 2024 17:00
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zoux posted:The IRS is about to launch its own free file service too, these are dark days for Turbo Tax The new free filing service is just a pilot program for a few states in 2024. The IRA provided them funding for it and required that they create one, but they still have to present the study and performance to congress to get it approved. The IRS has had a free file program for a long time, but this specific pilot program is one that also files your state taxes and isn't restricted by income.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:05
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I am a high school social science teacher. Reading about the undecided and low info voters reminds me of the responses I get from students. I do realize these kids mostly are just parroting what they hear at home and school is the place to better understand the issues in our government. That’s what my job is for. But drat do I get some responses that are really out there.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:21
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Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:The new free filing service is just a pilot program for a few states in 2024. The IRA provided them funding for it and required that they create one, but they still have to present the study and performance to congress to get it approved. When I go to irs.gov and follow their free file links, it takes me to a page full of vendors?
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Jan 23, 2024 17:21
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Bring on the free filing. I have just about the simplest taxes you can't do on a 1040EZ. There's nothing I have to account for that isn't on an official document. The amount I have to pay to file with a service is still worth it for my time and convenience but only barely.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:25
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There's absolutely no reason for the tax prep market to exist. The government could easily do the vast majority of people's taxes for them, or provide the same service as private vendors but without the bullshit. It's a fake industry that sustains itself purely through lobbying.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:28
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zoux posted:When I go to irs.gov and follow their free file links, it takes me to a page full of vendors? That’s their existing program, which is just outside companies that have agreed to provide a free version of their service. All of them are better described as “free-ish,” since you have to meet certain income requirements and sending in your state return usually costs money. This pilot program is for a tool developed specifically for the IRS.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:29
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Halloween Jack posted:There's absolutely no reason for the tax prep market to exist. The government could easily do the vast majority of people's taxes for them, or provide the same service as private vendors but without the bullshit. It's a fake industry that sustains itself purely through lobbying. Shoving an inexplicable profit-seeking step into a necessary part of society is kind of America's thing.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:29
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Baronash posted:That’s their existing program, which is just outside companies that have agreed to provide a free version of their service. All of them are better described as “free-ish,” since you have to meet certain income requirements and sending in your state return usually costs money. This pilot program is for a tool developed specifically for the IRS. Yeah that's what I thought, Leon made it sound like that already existed at a smaller scale.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:30
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Xiahou Dun posted:Shoving an inexplicable profit-seeking step into a necessary part of society is kind of America's thing. My exact thoughts dealing with buying a house.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:40
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Ms Adequate posted:A policy that alienates some people is a bad thing, but dismissing them with an airy 'they'll come home, they know what side their bread is buttered' is probably a much bigger problem in terms of votes. If Biden did all the same things but made a big show of (however false) sympathy with Palestinians and acknowledged their hurt properly, and tried to be like "We're working to end this conflict and bring lasting peace to the region, but Hamas has to be wiped out first" there would be plenty wrong with it and a lot of people would turn their backs, but a lot more are going to be unwilling to hold their noses when he's being callous and arrogant. Even at the best of times people get extremely mad when politicians act like they're entitled to their votes. Yeah the entitlement Biden seemingly has towards their votes is going to ruffle some feathers. There’s only so much “the other person is worse” that people can realistically take.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:46
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theCalamity posted:Yeah the entitlement Biden seemingly has towards their votes is going to ruffle some feathers. There’s only so much “the other person is worse” that people can realistically take.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:51
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I'm honestly shocked I haven't seen a scary commercial decrying this pilot program from PAC backed by a cabal of lovely tax prep companies. "Do you trust the government with your taxes? The IRS wants to eliminate your freedom to choose how to file your taxes and force you to use their own tax filing program. Call your moron congressmen and say NO to government take over of your taxes." paidofrbyamericansfortaxchoice
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Jan 23, 2024 17:53
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FlamingLiberal posted:It’s especially gross when the people in Michigan who are saying this have in many cases lost family members in the war Don’t worry. Ignoring people in Michigan always goes just fine.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:55
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zoux posted:When I go to irs.gov and follow their free file links, it takes me to a page full of vendors? Yeah, they have official partners that allow you to file with the IRS directly for free if you make less than ~$80k. It's called the "IRS Free File" program. The difference between those and the new pilot program is that the pilot program has no income requirement and will also file your state taxes. This new one is called the "IRS Direct File" program.
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Jan 23, 2024 17:56
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The Direct File link is here: https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/strategic-plan/direct-file "In 2024, we're launching a new pilot tax filing service called Direct File. If you're eligible and choose to participate, file your 2023 federal tax return online, for free, directly with IRS. It will be rolled out in phases and is expected to be more widely available in mid-March."
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Jan 23, 2024 17:59
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Also note that the Direct File pilot program only passes your info on to help you file your state returns at the same time if you live in Arizona, California, Massachusetts and New York. If you have an AGI under $79k and no special tax situations, then it is probably more convenient to just use Turbotax, Cash App, or one of the many other free versions unless you live in those states.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:01
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Oh I don't have state taxes. Or uh, government services.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:02
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There is a detailed and active A/T thread on US income taxes here.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:03
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Hopefully this is some first steps towards tax education in general, the average person I talk to has so much disinformation about taxes its insane. Like act like it's the most complicated thing in the world but none of them have any like itemized deductions or anything. My favorite part is the older ones dismissing my trying to explain to them as "you'll understand when you are older and make real money and see how much they take out", I'm loving forty
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Jan 23, 2024 18:05
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The one good thing the Trump tax bill did was basically make it so that it doesn't make much sense to itemize your taxes unless you have a very special circumstance or are very wealthy by bumping up the standard deduction. Of course, this was paired with bumping down the individual deduction just to make sure that poor people and people with several dependents don't accidentally get a tax break... but, on its own it was a good move. Now, something like 70% of people take the standard deduction which makes it much easier to do mass simpler tax prep directly from the IRS.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:08
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Halloween Jack posted:There's absolutely no reason for the tax prep market to exist. The government could easily do the vast majority of people's taxes for them, or provide the same service as private vendors but without the bullshit. It's a fake industry that sustains itself purely through lobbying. The tax prep industry would ideally serve the same purpose as private health insurance does in a UHC country. If you, for whatever reason, have needs that are especially complicated, or believe that you can get someone to do a better job, or happen to be a casualty of some screwup, you can pay more and feel that you got relief Private tax prep services for individual middle-class and below filers is absolutely something that should not exist
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Jan 23, 2024 18:09
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FlamingLiberal posted:It’s especially gross when the people in Michigan who are saying this have in many cases lost family members in the war It wasn't directed at Biden, but there was that lady who lost over 60 of her family members since the start of the war and confronted Senator Warren about a ceasefire. I doubt saying that the other guy is worse would do anything to persuade people who experienced this war so viscerally. If it were me, I'd resent them for it.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:13
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Not that I really wanna go to bat for fuckin Intuit but the TurboTax commercial they're spamming on football this year doesn't say it's blanket-free for everyone, but for 37% of taxpayers. I was able to file fed/state with them last week for free, but as usual they like to hide the ability to do so. gently caress 'em though. Bring federal e-filing back. I'm in California and I wish I had waited a couple days so I could use the Fed one instead. Next year... I hope.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:14
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theCalamity posted:It wasn't directed at Biden, but there was that lady who lost over 60 of her family members since the start of the war and confronted Senator Warren about a ceasefire. I doubt saying that the other guy is worse would do anything to persuade people who experienced this war so viscerally. If it were me, I'd resent them for it. Yeah, but I've got friends who are trans or have trans kids. I also know people who have family in Ukraine. Am I not allowed to get upset? Especially when their decision ultimately changes nothing for them but everything for others? Like, why does the resentment only work one way? EDIT: Sorry if this is going into electoralism derail again. Just stressed. Byzantine posted:My 'favorite' political trend is watching the line for "they'll understand when they're older/drat youths being youths not understanding the Real World" creeping upwards from 25 in 2012 to 30 in 2016 to 35 in 2020 and now tapping 40. It's weird, like something happened in the 80s that put The American Dream out of reach and the boomers keep expecting a turn that never materializes. I've heard that line my entire life as well. volts5000 fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Jan 23, 2024 |
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Jan 23, 2024 18:24
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socialsecurity posted:My favorite part is the older ones dismissing my trying to explain to them as "you'll understand when you are older and make real money and see how much they take out", I'm loving forty My 'favorite' political trend is watching the line for "they'll understand when they're older/drat youths being youths not understanding the Real World" creeping upwards from 25 in 2012 to 30 in 2016 to 35 in 2020 and now tapping 40. It's weird, like something happened in the 80s that put The American Dream out of reach and the boomers keep expecting a turn that never materializes.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:24
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My employer and my healthcare provider are the same entity. I'm much more worried about being in perpetual medical debt to my boss than I am about taxes.
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Jan 23, 2024 18:26
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https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1749449590619914557 Buddy, you should wake up everyday thanking God that you live in the one time in history where failing to overthrow a government didn't get you executed for treason.
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Jan 23, 2024 19:27
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Good PA poll released for Biden today, for whatever that's worth: https://x.com/SusquehannaPR/status/1749803436911268065?s=20 I hope we start getting swing state polling more often, as that's ultimately what matters most.
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Jan 23, 2024 19:28
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socialsecurity posted:Hopefully this is some first steps towards tax education in general, the average person I talk to has so much disinformation about taxes its insane. Like act like it's the most complicated thing in the world but none of them have any like itemized deductions or anything. My favorite part is the older ones dismissing my trying to explain to them as "you'll understand when you are older and make real money and see how much they take out", I'm loving forty I'm 42. My tax situation is a million times more complex than my parents ever were and they have literally no idea how taxes work, and they constantly warn me that I should be cautious of accepting raises because my take home might drop by fifty percent or more if I earn one dollar too much. "It happened to us multiple times when you were a kid! By the way you owe us for the past 25 years since we can't count you for free refund money anymore ever since you hit 18. We always used to get free money for having kids, I don't understand why it would change!" Doesn't matter how much I try to explain taxes in *extremely* simple terms, I am a childe and don't know anything about taxes. I also probably pay more in taxes in one year than they have paid in their entire life, if you count the massive non-refundable and refundable credits they got. They probably effectively paid $0 in federal taxes over their whole lives.
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Jan 23, 2024 19:29
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Byzantine posted:My 'favorite' political trend is watching the line for "they'll understand when they're older/drat youths being youths not understanding the Real World" creeping upwards from 25 in 2012 to 30 in 2016 to 35 in 2020 and now tapping 40. It's weird, like something happened in the 80s that put The American Dream out of reach and the boomers keep expecting a turn that never materializes. Yeah it was like two, three whole decades of older folks mainstreaming that pissy attitude from their literal armchairs in the living room. Telling us over and over again "just you watch, they'll be gently caress You Got Mine just like us, when they become real adults (trademark, patent pending)" ah but they dismantled the whole part where we can Get Ours, hmm
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