Re: Another Obama Nominee

you were just about to titillate my inner jonathan swift. too bad...

KT - you're kidding right?
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May 21, 2008
Capitol Hill Resident Finds Computer Glitch in Tax Office
It's almost as if the District's Office of Tax and Revenue has been looking for more ways to come across as a bunch of buffoons. Today the Examiner reports on how one persistent Capitol Hill resident, Noah Meyerson, was responsible for forcing the office to fix an error they had not even detected which allowed roughly 300 homeowners to skip out on an entire property tax payment last year.

The tax office is naturally downplaying the mistake, arguing the error only accounted for less than one percent of the city's tax revenues. But given the year the Office of Tax and Revenue has had, small mistakes like these really do add up to a larger picture of total incompetence.

the problem with your proposal is that you're talking about different jurisdictional tax liabilities, as well as different types of liabilities (for example, workman's comp is private insurance, unemployment is public insurance).
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its not a bad idea, though -- put probably best accomplished by the private sector.

Not a bad idea, although I would argue that taxes should just be simpler overall. Unfortunately, most of the tax simplification movements have been led or hijacked by flat-tax zealots who insist that I be taxed at the same rate as Bill Gates before I am allowed to have a simple and easy system of calculating taxes.
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Incidentally, the best tax system that I have ever heard of is the Automated Payment Tax that would tax every transaction at an extremely low rate.

Wouldn't that be like Turbo Tax?

Dee,
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I don't think she is kidding. For those Americans that have complicating tax factors, filing your taxes is difficult. A person of average intelligence shouldn't need to hire two tax lawyers and CPA just to be safe.
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Our tax code is desperately in need of simplification. People don't willing make errors on their taxes. Everybody has heard of the old adage probably told to them by their grandpa, "Boy, you ain't got to do but two things in life, and that's die and pay taxes."

KT –
Helluva suggestion. I can buy a computer or a big flat-screen (or a Rolex, for that matter) with a few clicks, and it works. I'd hope a tech-savvy (or at least -conversant) administration could at least bring us into the late 20th century.
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Two caveats – don't give Diebold any part of the contract, and don't hire any of the cellphone companies to answer the helplines.

Okay. I give up. Next we are going to hear that Jay Carney has to resign because he forgot to pay back taxes on the gardner. KT-You need to double check Klein, Amy, Michael and JNS because apparently no one inside the beltway knows how to pay taxes.

Surely, technology exists to make this possible.

KT:
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As a technologist (somebody who designs, builds and implements these systems --sometimes excruciatingly complex-- for a living), I can tell you:
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Yes. Absolutely.

KT - I can agree to one central site. I don't think Congress or local government is gonna make it happen. It just should be "mistake-proofed, so you can't get off the screen until you've completed it properly. It just seems like a bolt on for one of these private sector companies like Intuit. Or like the bill pay through your bank, where the bank could deduct the appropriate taxes like a mortgage escrow account.

@bryanfromhouston -- I was being snarky about DC it is notoriously inept when it comes to things like this, and the kidding part was about trusting a DC tax office to tell you what you owe and just take it.
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I am still being billed for a parking ticket that I've already proved I paid on a number of occasions. Hence the snippet from the DC examiner.
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Oh and pluk -- I'm sure you can find several articles lambasting DC government for contracting out the parking meter and traffic camera functions that have done some questionable things so I don't know if the private sector is always the answer either -- Halliburton, KBR

As a small (translated as minute) business critter, please allow me to say that is one he!! of an idea, Ms. Tumulty. Seconded.

And what bryanfromhouston said. Also.

my kids can tell you how much cussing they hear in our home office as i try to negotiate all these things.
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well, there is an easy solution.
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Make Swamphusband do it.

I probably way overpay my taxes simply because I'm trying to make sure I avoid the kinds of things that, apparently, get you a job with the Obama Administration. Buy, do I feel like a sucker!

KT - mark of the Beast?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_killefer

....

I SURE AS HELL HOPE & CHANGE THAT SKIPPY O'BONGER DOES A BETTER JOB VETTING OUR ENEMIES IN GITMO THAN HE DOES HIS LOBBYIST FRIENDS IN D.C.

What a group, and what an ugly, above-it-all non-start to a lackluster POTUS admin.

KT,
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Yep. The system is a mess and hardly anyone abides by it. It's like when the maximum speed limit on interstate highways was 55 mph. Everyone knew the law, but hardly anyone followed it. (And those who did were honked at for slowing traffic.)
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Prohibition is another good example. Massive failure.
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Maybe someday all of this will be worked out. Your idea is excellent. Too bad you're not connected enough to be nominated for a worthwhile post.

my other idea is that they figure out a way to make one password or pin number that would work for everything. i may run for president on that one.
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while that's probably a bad idea (one password for everything means that if someone gets your one password, they've got access to everything), I wouldn't mind seeing one rule for passwords (and IDs).

YO, OBAMA:

NICE VETTING, AGAIN.

NOT.

"Obama took no questions Tuesday after announcing his choice of Sen. Judd Gregg to be commerce secretary. He left the White House lectern ignoring a shouted question about why so many of his nominees have tax problems."

What a freakin DWEEB.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_killefer

Oh well.

HILLARY HAPPENS.

I feel like there must be more to the Killefer withdrawal. Any rumors?

Oh and pluk -- I'm sure you can find several articles lambasting DC government for contracting out the parking meter and traffic camera functions that have done some questionable things so I don't know if the private sector is always the answer either
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dee, there is a difference between government outsourcing essential services (bad idea), and meeting a demand for a service that its not necessary for the government to provide (setting up one website on which someone can take care of the various federal and state tax and private and public insurance liabilities for the convenience of those well off enough to be able to afford to hire personal employees.)
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KT - I've called the IRS two different days with the same question and gotten two different answers (I thought the first answer was wrong, and at least the second person agreed with me). The advantage of your government driven system is presumably there would be one set of understandings of the rules to apply to all.

The only way to get a more effective system is to force policymakers to abide by the existing one. John Edwards' had a great proposal to strip health insurance from Congress if they failed to pass a comprehensive plan. Of course, the politicians and the Villagers were up in arms at being "extorted" to pass a bill upon pain of being thrust onto the open market for health insurance (i.e. what McCain wanted to do to all Americans).