<story><title>IRS Direct File to open to all 50 states and D.C. for 2025 tax season</title><url>https://www.axios.com/2024/05/30/irs-taxes-direct-file-free-program</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>yndoendo</author><text>I would argue that having to file taxes through a 3rd party accountant or service is not only forced commerce but also broken glass economics. Looks like it helps the economy by creating jobs but the job is redundant and does not create anything of value.&lt;p&gt;Where are crimes more likely to occur, a city with 10,000 or 1 million? Where are financial crimes more likely to occur, people that make $10,000 a year or people that make $1 million or more a year. I rather have these accounts move into forensic work and go after the wealthy tax evaders.&lt;p&gt;IRS is an enforcement agency that specializes in tax collection and fraud. People that are clamoring for reduced IRS staffing are ultimately support of defending the police. I rather have a well staff IRS going after those that evade paying their taxes, probability speaking the wealthy.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>londons_explore</author><text>Conventional wisdom is that if one can fund the IRS with one extra dollar, and they use that dollar to collect two dollars more taxes (from evaders), than that was a good way to spend taxpayers money.&lt;p&gt;Many economists don&amp;#x27;t agree though.   If you care about economic success of the country, the goal isn&amp;#x27;t &amp;#x27;collect as many taxes as possible&amp;#x27;.  The goal is to make the citizens wealthier in real terms.&lt;p&gt;Effort your citizens put into tax collection is &amp;#x27;dead weight&amp;#x27;, and doesn&amp;#x27;t contribute to exports etc.   However, effort your citizens put into trade that (for various reasons) ends up under-taxed, usually does add to the economic wellbeing of citizens.&lt;p&gt;Therefore, it&amp;#x27;s only necessary to collect mostly-correct taxes from most citizens, if doing so let&amp;#x27;s you redirect labour from tax collection into other work.&lt;p&gt;Is it unfair?  Yes.  But it&amp;#x27;s still good economic policy.</text></comment>
<story><title>IRS Direct File to open to all 50 states and D.C. for 2025 tax season</title><url>https://www.axios.com/2024/05/30/irs-taxes-direct-file-free-program</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>yndoendo</author><text>I would argue that having to file taxes through a 3rd party accountant or service is not only forced commerce but also broken glass economics. Looks like it helps the economy by creating jobs but the job is redundant and does not create anything of value.&lt;p&gt;Where are crimes more likely to occur, a city with 10,000 or 1 million? Where are financial crimes more likely to occur, people that make $10,000 a year or people that make $1 million or more a year. I rather have these accounts move into forensic work and go after the wealthy tax evaders.&lt;p&gt;IRS is an enforcement agency that specializes in tax collection and fraud. People that are clamoring for reduced IRS staffing are ultimately support of defending the police. I rather have a well staff IRS going after those that evade paying their taxes, probability speaking the wealthy.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>gottorf</author><text>&amp;gt; Where are crimes more likely to occur, a city with 10,000 or 1 million?&lt;p&gt;A city of 10,000 may very well have a higher rate of crime. In terms of your analogy, consider my lawn man, who only takes cash for his services. I know he&amp;#x27;s not taking in millions of dollars a year (or even hundreds of thousands), but I also strongly suspect that he does not report all of his income.&lt;p&gt;Same goes for every cash-only business I know.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; I rather have a well staff IRS going after those that evade paying their taxes, probability speaking the wealthy.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;d rather the tax code be simplified so that nobody has access to loopholes, not just the wealthy. Not much you can do to hide, for example, a land value tax.</text></comment>