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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   3901 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 9, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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When you make a mistake on your US federal income-tax return, the IRS sends to you a letter telling you that you made a mistake and informing you of your new tax bill. In November, the president signed into law a bill that will require this letter to actually explain what mistake you made, rather than merely saying that a mistake exists and giving to you a new tax bill with no explanation of how it was recalculated.

I guess I never thought about it, but I didn’t know this wasn’t already how it already worked. It’s amusingly irritating. To build off the common internet joke about taxes:

IRS: “fyi you owe us taxes”
Taxpayer: “how much?”
IRS: “guess”
Taxpayer: *submits tax filing*
IRS: “the amount is wrong btw”
Taxpayer: “how do i fix it?”
IRS: “guess”
Taxpayer: “what happens if i don’t get it right?”
IRS: “fees, interest, penalties, maybe prison… idk”

Anarchotyranny in action. Low income earners and those who work under-the-table don’t have to bother with tax returns, while more productive citizens have to stress over filings lest they get sent to prison.

The hostility of the IRS is quite a thing to behold. Way back when, when I was still on Reddit, I ran into a thread where someone asked for advice on what to do with some income they, or someone in their family didn't declare. In my naivete I asked why don't they just come clean, and got told ny someone else this could land them in prison. Now I don't know if this was just Redditors spreading Redditisms, but I was rather surprised. This actually works in Europe! If you actively confess before they catch you, they don't even charge interest.

The first indication that DOGE was going off the rails was when Elon proudly tweeted that he had shut down the IRS Direct File program. That might be the most out-of-touch thing I have ever seen him do.

The hostility of the IRS is quite a thing to behold. [...] This actually works in Europe! If you actively confess before they catch you, they don't even charge interest.

There is much to complain about Finnish taxes but the tax office's customer service certainly isn't one of them. I haven't heard a single complaint about them and apart from the rather long queuing times on phone (billed as a regular private phone number, not as a typical expensive service number) and some services only being open a few hours per day, their service has always been excellent and friendly. Taxes are of course calculated automatically and most changes and declarations can be done online but if you need to do something Right Now, you may need to call them on the phone.

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