The IRS Is Struggling to Keep Up–and That’s Bad for Everyone

time.com

14 points·mooreds··4 comments

It's a complete mess. I filed my 2019 taxes on time in 2020. The IRS didn't process them until early 2021. Which meant that I got the first stimulus check, I got skipped for the second, and I got the wrong amount in the third.

So... I had to fix all that in my 2020 taxes, filed on time in 2021. They owe me a $6000 refund. And they haven't been processed yet. Because everyone who had to fix the stimulus check mess-ups has to have their return manually processed since their computers can't do it [1]. So... I can pretty much guarantee that my 2021 taxes will be a mess thanks to the current child tax credit business.

[1] https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-operations-during-covid-19-...

I'm sympathetic to those bearing the brunt of the work at the IRS, but let's face it, the tax code in the US is a complete and total disaster.

If the IRS were a corporation there would be political outrage at how impossible it is to work with them. However, the industry of tax software, overpriced accounting fees, government fees to e-File, etc. will never be stopped.

The IRS is the symptom of our totally incompetent and dysfunctional government that we have. Good luck even getting in touch with them right now.

IMO we should just abolish the IRS and replace income taxes with a 10-20% VAT tax and be done with it. Payroll taxes and capitol gains taxes can be automatically reported and remitted from employers and brokerages respectively. Intuit and their ilk can adapt or go out of business.

Since USA already prints money for unlimited deficits, the personal income tax is not needed for revenue. It is a program to peer into the private bits of people's lives and keep people in fear of the IRS/gov't.

Who is the boss here... people or the gov't.

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