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Comment by anonuser123456 | Hacker News Reader

It’s not that absurd. CA regulatory infrastructure is setup for established, large firms. It’s obvious that small businesses don’t have the overhead to deal with EDD and FTB. As an example, I spent 10x more time dealing with the state for my nanny than I did having to manage her.

The state needs small business rules with simple forms, push button compliance and exemptions for interstate commerce.

The alternative is that most small firms live in the informal sector or do things wrong, not b/c they are bad actors but b/c compliance is hard.

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There are companies that businesses can hire such as Gusto, JustWorks, etc. that handle all this red tape for you. Most well-advised startups do just that.

Respectfully, I think that's the point. Why should a single-employee company have to outsource to deal with all the red tape?

For the same reasons they don't generate their own electricity or grow their own food: Because dealing with red tape isn't core to most businesses' missions.

His point is there shouldn't be red tape at all.

there's an argument for having better laws with exemptions, there's not much for a "magically just have no administration at all" one.

Why should tax regulations be so complicated in the first place? This is the same mentality that let the IRS grow into the beast that it is today. Most of this stuff should be 100% automated unless you have some edge test case.

The IRS doesn’t write the tax (revenue) code; Congress does. And the tax code is the result of countless lobbyists peddling influence on behalf of their constituents, all of whom are looking for a carve-out of some sort.

People like to use the IRS as a political punching bag and it makes zero sense to me. Their job is to explain the code Congress wrote in terms laypeople can understand, design the forms, collect and process the returns, send notices, and take enforcement actions when cheaters try to flout the law. People who don’t like getting taxed or are frustrated at the complexity of the revenue code should take it up with Congress, not the IRS.

As a side note, it’s also incredibly weird that some very vocal people have a problem with the IRS, yet are staunch defenders of police, even though the IRS has never beaten up or killed a single person for breaking the law.

I'm sure if California had to pay the costs of hiring them, they'd magically find ways to simplify the code.

I wasn't aware that JustWorks can also handle state income taxes and franchise fees. Is this true?

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