Hacker News Reader

Comment by CWuestefeld | Hacker News Reader

> some citizens of certain religious sects, like the Amish, do not have social security numbers.

Fun story: many years ago, I worked on some consumer tax prep software. Specifically because of the Amish, the SSN field was optional. Imagine that - an Amish person using tax prep software.

View on HN

It should always be optional as not everyone using tax prep software will actually be a citizen of the country where they're paying tax or registered with said country's social welfare system. I found navigating bureaucracy a nightmare when I first moved to the UK because so many systems were set up to require a National Insurance (Social Security) number which I wasn't able to get until after I started paying tax. Notably I was denied a bank account until I complained about it on Twitter.

I’m no Amish expert but I lived near them for a while and it seems to be more about how they choose to lead their lives and there’s a (fuzzy) line between ownership and usage of technology. I’d bet many would be quite fine with using tax software on someone else’s computer. They’ll also use a contractor’s power tools, ride in someone else’s car, own flashlights, etc.

Some Amish/Mennonite sects have exceptions for business, so I'll sometimes see them with cell phones. Tax software would probably fall under that exception. Honestly, I'm more amazed any company spent time catering to such a small portion of the market.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com