Re: eof Bush's IRS Wants to Make Your Tax Returns Public

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Randall [rvh40 () insightbb com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 11:13 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: johnl () iecc com
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:    Bush's IRS Wants to Make Your Tax Returns Public

On Feb 20, 2008, at 1:35 PM, David Farber wrote:

> ________________________________________
> From: John Levine [johnl () iecc com]
> Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:20 PM
> To: David Farber
> Cc: Lars Poulsen
> Subject: Re: [IP] Re:   Bush's IRS Wants to Make Your Tax Returns
> Public
>
> > Nobody should be surprised at this. Frankly, I have been suspicious
> > ever since I saw "free online tax-preparation" offered on the net.
> > It is obvious that if an address of a homeowner is worth $5 to
> > marketers, then a complete form 1040 is worth at least $50.
>
> It is my impression that the main impetus for the free online tax prep
> is to sell people overpriced refund anticipation loans, a variant of
> payday loans.  My local credit union offers free tax prep in person,
> to deflect people from the H+R Block refund loans and to encourage
> people to put their refunds in savings accounts and build some assets.

This time, it's not quite as bad as it looks (though it might be worse).

A few years back the IRS started wondering aloud why people couldn't
just go to IRS.GOV and file online, without having to pay the Messrs
Bloch and their ilk.  (H. Bloch and R. Bloch were brothers who formed
H&R Bloch to file taxes for people who couldn't do it themselves.
They changed the name to Block, so they wouldn't sound so Jewish).

Block and Quicken and a few other companies were planning to get into
Online Tax Filing, and they talked to some people who talked to some
people who talked to The Right People and the IRS agreed to not offer
free online filing, on the condition that the private companies like
Block and Quicken provide "free" filing to at least a certain
percentage of filers.

People who go to http://www.irs.gov and follow the links can find a
provider who will file for free.  (Most of them file federal free,
state is extra.  Some file state free as well).

If you do not navigate to hrblock.com or quicken.com from irs.gov,
you will^H^H^H^H "may" not qualify for free filing, so go to irs.gov
and follow the "free filing" link.

Of course, most of the people who go to H&R Block *are* there for the
usurious "refund anticipation loans".

It's just another scam, to separate the poor from their cash.
Nothing to see here' move along, folks ...



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