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    Free Software

    The thrust of this appears in many other recent posts, but I would like to dedicate this to "free" software.

    As insulted as we may be that the worth of our services is compared to something "free," this kind of shallow campaigning will always have its marketing, and like P T Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute."

    I would counter this advertising at every opportunity. If you're over 20, you should know that there is no such thing as "free" anything. Two things will happen, i) they will carry you down the road and ultimately force you into something that is NOT free, or ii)it really WILL be free and they will sell your personal information to anyone willing to pay 50 cents for it.

    Just what kind of information will they be able to sell to others? You can start with your name and address. Then you move on to your income levels. What about certain income and deductions? Would they be interested if you have significant interest income? What does that one single item tell them about you?

    Let's move on. What about your bank? ...and your bank account number?

    They can't do this can they? Won't the Federal Trade Commission come after them? You might answer this if you know just how little money the FTC has to enforce laws passed for the benefit of consumers. Remember the "Do Not Call" Registry to stop solicitous phone calls? Wow, they really stopped that didn't they?

    Your tax preparer is regulated by Cir. 230 and new section 7216. Get the "box" or some cyberspace website -- and wonder what kind of protection you have from the above.

    In my lifetime, when anyone says "Free" I tune them out immediately. But this approach will always have a market. Education is the best thing to confront their approach.

    #2
    IRS is encouraging Free Filing.

    TheTaxBook is the #1 fast-answer tax publication in America. Our publications provide fast answers to tax questions for tax practitioners!


    They are the one partnering with some 20 different software companies to offer Free File to the public. You can’t blame the software companies for doing it when the government says offer it for free, or we will simply go to your competition and partner with them.

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      #3
      I think the real reason behind free software is this:

      The IRS has always offered free tax forms to the public. The government wants people to comply with the tax laws and pay their taxes. So why wouldn’t they provide free tax forms to the public in order for them to fill out their tax returns?

      Fast forward to the age of the computer and electronic filing. Now the IRS wants everyone to electronic file, for obvious reasons. If the only way to electronic file is to pay for some software, or pay for some professional to do it, it is no longer free tax forms for the public. Thus, the government had to give private software companies some incentive to offer free tax software, or the government had to develop their own free software. The software companies did not want to compete with a government monopoly on free software, so they decided to go along with the IRS.

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        #4
        Professional preparers

        The paper said 80% of returns filed are from professional preparers. I thought that was way hi, but claimed the number came from the government.

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          #5
          Free IRS schemes

          Originally posted by Bees Knees View Post
          I think the real reason behind free software is this:

          The IRS has always offered free tax forms to the public. The government wants people to comply with the tax laws and pay their taxes. So why wouldn’t they provide free tax forms to the public in order for them to fill out their tax returns?

          Fast forward to the age of the computer and electronic filing
          Excellent parallel comparison to "then and now" DIY crowd.

          Now fast reverse back to the age of paper forms. We had the do-it-yourself crowd back then too. And in most cases, we could go behind their work, file amended returns, and get several hundred dollars back for them. The taxpayer didn't really know how the tax laws applied to his situation, what he could deduct, or what he couldn't. He believed the old 1040 booklet he received at Christmastime every year with forms and instructions was the extent of his needs.

          Amazing. The more things change, the more things stay the same....

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