How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

[Mark42]

I think the IRS should sell a tax program. They know all the rules, they should have the most up to date program. Plus I wouldn't get all the advertising junk from people like Turbo Tax trying to sell me a deduction maximizer program to go with their basic tax program.

Makes sense to me.

I should be President.

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

What is so bad about maximizing ones allowed deduction legally?

 

[treedancer]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

I think the IRS should sell a tax program. They know all the rules, they should have the most up to date program. Plus I wouldn't get all the advertising junk from people like Turbo Tax trying to sell me a deduction maximizer program to go with their basic tax program.

Makes sense to me.

I should be President.

Because they don?t know all of the rules that they have in their data bank, you can call with the same question and get two differed answers from two different people.

 

[rolmops]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

The reason why they don't sell a tax program is because they are in the business of taxing and not in the business of selling things.

 

[mike176]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

If your income is below $50,000 a year they will give up a list of tax programs you can use for free. I filled mine last year with turbo tax for free. I tryed a few of the programs they offerd and went with the one that gave me the largest return.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

They dont want to have a definite tax program. Too many people wouldnt make mistakes in their favor........same reason the car makers dont have a program that tells you how much a car is worth............

 

[ziggy]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

i'm sure it'd be too hard for the regular taxpayer to figure it out how to use a irs invented tax program....

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

The federal government manufacturing a product to compete with private purveyors of programs? It's heresy, I tell ya', heresy.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

.................

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

not being political, but knowing the efficiency of gov't programs, there would be so many errors in it. and would cost a billion dollars to produce the program. which they would have to collect taxes to cover the cost, as they could not sell it for enough to cover it.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

not being political, but knowing the efficiency of gov't programs, there would be so many errors in it. and would cost a billion dollars to produce the program. which they would have to collect taxes to cover the cost, as they could not sell it for enough to cover it.

Or you could say dont let the chicken's loose in the fox house....err something like that....

 

[frayedknotarts]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

I'm takin' a tax prep course from one of the "Big Three" companies in the field, and I gotta tell ya that not even THEY have all the corners rounded off yet!

Multiple times in the coursework books I've found contradictory or inaccurate statements, mis-interpretations of the code and downright errors in computation, not to mention the transposition of sentences and words which completely alters the meaning of the instruction.

Now, I'm no genius: in fact, I can (truly) barely add one and one and come out with eleven three times in a row, and if I can find this crap in a textbook supposedly prepared by experts, you can only imagine what kind of responses you'll get from individuals in "the business" or working for IRS.

If you don't understand the tax code, you are NOT alone. I'll bet that a majority of IRS agents, stripped of their precious books, couldn't figure it out either.

It seems to depend on the following formula:
[Complexity of the return (/) attention span of the processor (x) the knowledge of the processor (-) the amount you show as tax ] x [any credits you can apply (-) those which you can actually use (+) the credits which actually work (-) the credits you're actually ENTITLED to (/) the serial number of a dollar bill pulled at random from your pocket]

Ahhh....

one and one is eleven...
two and two is twenty-two...

(I need a drink.)

 

[bassman284]

Re: How come the IRS doesn't sell a tax program?

If your income is below $50,000 a year they will give up a list of tax programs you can use for free. I filled mine last year with turbo tax for free. I tryed a few of the programs they offerd and went with the one that gave me the largest return.

Does it worry you that they had different results?