Schoolhouse Rock's Tax Man Max

April 15, 2015 6:51 AM

Happy Tax Day, US MeFites. Here's Tax Man Max (yt) to explain taxes for Schoolhouse Rock.
posted by julen (17 comments total)

This video on taxation has a more negative perspective.
posted by Mr. Justice at 7:14 AM on April 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Why you can’t do your taxes, why you shouldn’t and why you’re so upset about it.
posted by chavenet at 7:18 AM on April 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

That whole article is disgusting. If I had to sum it up in a sentence or two, it would be, "Following directions is hard and you are dumb and helpless, so you should just throw up your hands in frustration and pay several hundred dollars for a tax professional to do everything for you. If you don't believe me, here's an open letter from a notoriously disingenuous shitsack with a massive sense of entitlement who also claims helplessness!"

The one worthwhile point it brings up is that Congress (so mostly but by no means only Republicans) has been cutting the IRS budget for years. Just another example of huge malinvestment when every dollar spent on enforcement pays for itself many times over in increased collections. Ever hear a conservative whine about turning us into a basketcase like Greece? Well their tax enforcement is basically nonexistent, and that may be just where they're steering us.
posted by indubitable at 7:49 AM on April 15, 2015 [7 favorites]

Since for most taxpayers practically everything has been reported to the IRS already, you should be able to go to an IRS.gov website, get an HTML version of your forms already filled in, and you can just tweak it for any missing additions or deductions. I've had years in which my taxes would have taken three minutes if this had been available.

I assume the only reason they don't is to provide employment to professional preparers and software providers.
posted by George_Spiggott at 7:54 AM on April 15, 2015

Yes, that would be the reason.
posted by demonic winged headgear at 7:57 AM on April 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

While that's definitely something I want to see happen George_Spiggott, and Intuit's lobbying against making taxes simpler has been disgraceful, I'm concerned about the security implications. How do you prevent anybody with some basic personal information about you from seeing all your W-2s and 1099s?

Even if you have a reasonable level of verification (sending documents through the mail is only so secure anyway), all the "hackers in your taxes" press would be crippling.
posted by zachlipton at 9:49 AM on April 15, 2015

zachlipton, basically every financial institution allows comprehensive account access over the web; how do you keep villains out of your bank account now? From a security perspective there's no difference between the two problems, and from a risk perspective I'd rather someone saw my tax forms than had access to my accounts -- though only on a scale of extreme undesirability. The topic of staying secure online is a little broad to go into here, but if your bank can do it the feds can. The feds also expose countless billions in transactions electronically to the banking industry at this very moment. It's only the little guy who doesn't get to play in the pool.

As demonic winged headgear's linked points out, other countries have done this.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:09 AM on April 15, 2015

Let me tell you it will be. Here's one for you, nineteen for me...
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 10:16 AM on April 15, 2015

Well, if the tax code wasn't a byzantine mess, then people wouldn't be nearly as mad about paying taxes and Grover Norquist would get lonely.
posted by ckape at 10:33 AM on April 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

George_Spiggott wrote:

basically every financial institution allows comprehensive account access over the web; how do you keep villains out of your bank account now? From a security perspective there's no difference between the two problems, and from a risk perspective I'd rather someone saw my tax forms than had access to my accounts

There is a crucial difference, which is that dealing with any given financial institution is essentially voluntary -- if you don't like their security practices you can (theoretically, at least) choose one of their competitors. You really don't have that option with the government.
posted by Nerd of the North at 10:34 AM on April 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

On a different subject -- this was the first time I've ever seen the "Tax Man Max" short linked from the write-up -- it must have been produced well after my Saturday-morning cartoon-watching days. I was dismayed by how shrill and lacking in charm and substance it was (and kind of sexist, too) compared to the classic School House Rock segments that I remember.

Is it simply that I remember the older shorts through a very nostalgic filter or is there a serious and noticeable drop-off in quality there that's apparent to other people as well?
posted by Nerd of the North at 10:38 AM on April 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

"Tax Man Max" was released in the mid-90's as part of "Money Rock," an attempt to revive and expand the Schoolhouse Rock series. I have no idea what audience they thought they were playing to with that.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:23 AM on April 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

if you don't like their security practices you can (theoretically, at least) choose one of their competitors. You really don't have that option with the government.

So the old "every man his own Bruce Schneier" approach? How much do you think a given taxpayer knows about any institition's security practices? How many self-taught taxpayer-slash-internet security experts saw this coming, and would have known which businesses to use and which to avoid if they had? And is "don't put it online" the right answer to any security question? Particularly since in many cases that means the recourse is the U.S. Postal Service, which is, ahem, a bit harder to secure.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:27 AM on April 15, 2015

Since this is the tax day thread, I was checking out Brian Krebs articles re tax refund fraud (one of my coworkers had her refund stolen this year), and saw the two posts linked below re scammers stealing people's tax refunds and social security benefits by signing up as them on the IRS.gov and SSA.gov websites. Krebs recommends establishing your own accounts at these sites before this can happen to you.

Crooks Hijack Retirement Funds Via SSA Portal

Sign Up at irs.gov Before Crooks Do It For You

Also, Intuit really is a terrible company. Will definitely be exploring different options for filing my taxes next year.
posted by longdaysjourney at 11:31 AM on April 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

You should be thankful on Tax Day
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:32 PM on April 15, 2015

Don't forget to raise taxes
posted by the man of twists and turns at 5:01 PM on April 15, 2015

Ah, April. That time of year where the Americans abroad stun their local friends into silence with the revelation that all Americans are required to file their own taxes on their own instead of automatically through their employer (and that they have to file even if living outside the U.S.)
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:05 PM on April 15, 2015