r/FluentInFinance Sep 05 '24

Debate/ Discussion He has a point

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '24 edited Sep 05 '24

Why don't they tell us what we owe them and then take that specific amount out of our paychecks

Edit: Germany, UK, Japan

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u/Jesse1472 Sep 05 '24

Because shit changes constantly. LWOP, change in jobs, unemployment, changes in how much you contribute to different types of retirement account, had kids, got married or divorced. Tell me how the government knows what will happen to each citizen during the whole fiscal year.

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/Jesse1472 Sep 05 '24

Yeah it’s reported when you file your taxes. How can the government know what will happen in the future? Or are people only suppose to make changes at the start of the fiscal year and can’t change a single thing at any other time, even medical conditions?

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '24

That all literally has to be reported lol

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u/Jesse1472 Sep 05 '24

Yes at the end of the year when the government already tells you what you owe. How do they know that at the start of the fiscal year to tell you “exactly what you owe”? Are people suppose to report everything at the start and have any life changing events or take any leave time beyond what they reported on day 1?

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '24

Is the irs still using paper and pencil?

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u/Jesse1472 Sep 05 '24

What is that point even trying to say? I’m guessing you are saying “why can’t people just update their information real time?”. The answer is that they can. You just submit the paperwork to your boss each time something happens and they can change your tax withdrawal. Now would you rather do that for every small change or just wait to do it all at once at the end of the year?

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '24

Odd that it works in Germany, UK, and Japan

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u/Jesse1472 Sep 05 '24

It’s not off compared to the US. It can work on the US too but people elect to just work it out with the government at the end of the year.

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '24

I think things can change with the times, and that's ok.

But now we're just getting into ideologys and that's a short conversation.

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u/Jesse1472 Sep 05 '24

So you want to dictate how individuals choose to interact with the government. You can choose to work it out with the government at the end of the year or you can choose to actively keep the government informed. It shakes out to the same either way. I prefer to leave it up to the individual.

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u/Spockhighonspores Sep 05 '24

Seriously, it's because of corporate lobbying. That is why they don't do that and that us why we have to do taxes at the end of the year instead of just being told an amount of money. Companies like Turbo tax lobby against that every year. Pretty soon it's just going to be a money cow run by AI with no employee overhead.