Hacker News with Generative AI: Taxes

Immigrants pay 19.2% of taxes in the United States, more than $650B (elpais.com)
Immigration is not only a fundamental part of American history; it is an inherent part of the social and economic fabric of the United States and is key to the country’s future.
American pharmaceutical companies aren't paying tax in the U.S. (cfr.org)
The 2024 10-K reports of America’s largest pharmaceutical companies show that they continue to avoid paying much, if any, U.S. corporate income tax.
Buy, Borrow, Die – How to be a billionaire and pay no taxes (theatlantic.com)
America’s superrich have always found ways to avoid paying taxes, but in recent years, they’ve discovered what might be the mother of all loopholes. It’s a three-step process called “Buy, Borrow, Die,” and it allows people to amass a huge fortune, spend as much of it as they want, and pass the rest—untaxed—on to their heirs. The technique is so cleverly designed that the standard wish list of progressive tax reforms would leave it completely intact.
Several states seek end to property taxes (foxbusiness.com)
As Tax Day nears, fiscally conservative leaders in several states are pushing to abolish property taxes, with one Pennsylvania lawmaker arguing that homeowners shouldn’t have to "pay rent" to the government.
The failure of the land value tax (worksinprogress.co)
Land value taxes are once again becoming a popular all-purpose solution to housing issues. But implementing them in the early 1900s Britain destroyed the then-dominant Liberal Party.
DOGE's Cuts to the IRS Threaten to Cost More Than Doge Will Ever Save (propublica.org)
The Trump administration claims gutting federal agencies will save money, but cutting the IRS means the government collects less taxes. “If you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” one expert asks.
Ask HN: How do you handle VAT / Sales Tax accounting as B2C SaaS? (ycombinator.com)
Hey! I run a B2C SaaS and I use Stripe for all of my sales (subscriptions).
Musk ally is moving to close office behind free tax filing program at IRS (theguardian.com)
An Elon Musk ally installed in the US government said in a late night email going into Saturday that the office behind a popular free online tax filing option would be shuttered – and its employees would be let go.
Trump official calls Social Security 'wrong' with groundwork for cuts (independent.co.uk)
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are ramping up baseless claims that tens of millions of dead people are collecting Social Security payments, laying the groundwork to cut out “waste” and “fraud” as they look to make dramatic cuts for some of the most expensive programs in the federal budget to pay for astronomical tax cuts for America’s wealthiest households.
Musk Team Seeks Access to IRS System with Taxpayers' Records (nytimes.com)
The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to give a team member working with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said.
The European VAT Is Not a Discriminatory Tax Against US Exports (taxfoundation.org)
The Trump administration has once again floated the idea of “reciprocal” tariffs on foreign countries.
Trump Will Seek to End Carried Interest, Expand Salt in Tax Bill (bloomberg.com)
President Donald Trump outlined his tax priorities in a meeting with Republican lawmakers, including ending the carried interest tax break used by private equity fund managers and expanding the state and local tax deduction.
IRS using AI to make sure people aren't playing the system (2024) (cbsnews.com)
Your 2023 taxes are due in a few weeks, and now the Internal Revenue Service is using a new artificial intelligence tool to make sure people aren't playing the system.
Move your company out of Delaware to Nevada or Texas (eladgil.com)
Delaware, with a population of less than 1 million people, is home to over 1.8 million business entities, including more than 60% of Fortune 500 companies.
Musk Says He's 'Deleted' Popular Free IRS Tax Filing Program (thedailybeast.com)
President Trump’s “special government employee,” Elon Musk, announced on Monday that he has dissolved the Internal Revenue Service’s free file program, effectively firing the staff who worked on the popular program.
Tesla Paid Zero Federal Income Tax in 2024, Despite $2.3B in Income (truthout.org)
Elon Musk’s Tesla paid a total of $0 in federal income taxes in 2024, new tax reports show, despite the company having raked in billions of dollars in income and being the most valuable car company in the world.
IRS Expands Its Free Tax Filing Option (nytimes.com)
Tax season opens Monday, and the Internal Revenue Service has announced that it has expanded its free online system for filing 2024 returns directly with the federal government.
Ask HN: Would you make every country have a wealth tax like Sweden used to (ycombinator.com)
I know that Sweden abolished it in 2007 because so many companies / individuals left Sweden, however, if there was a button that reinstated it for EVERY country in the world, would you press it and why/why not?
Spain proposes 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents (theguardian.com)
Spain has announced plans to impose a tax of up to 100% on real estate bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK, in an aim to tackle the country’s housing crisis.
What foods are taxed in the UK (gov.uk)
Find out which types of food are zero-rated and which are standard-rated for VAT purposes.
Tax Heaven 3000, a dating SIM that prepares your federal taxes (taxheaven3000.com)
Do your federal taxes while Romancing your waifu!
Billionaires Have Sidestepped a Tax Aimed at the Rich (propublica.org)
Fourteen years ago, Congress set out to remedy a basic unfairness in the tax code.
Show HN: Brazilian service to automatically issue NFSe (notasync.com.br)
Emita Notas de Serviço automaticamente das suas vendas Stripe e mantenha suas obrigações fiscais em dia.
Crypto Doesn't Deserve a Tax Exemption (bloomberg.com)
If the incoming Trump administration wants to reduce capital gains taxes, then it should lower them across the board.
Cloud Computing Tax Threatens Chicago's Silicon Valley Ambitions (yahoo.com)
Chicago’s bid to become the Silicon Valley of the Midwest has registered some major wins in recent years: Google bought a huge downtown building, PsiQuantum Corp. announced a $1 billion investment in the city, and local startups raised a record $19 billion in 2022.
How One of the Richest Men Is Avoiding $8B in Taxes (nytimes.com)
The chief executive of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has taken advantage of popular loopholes in the federal estate and gift taxes, which have quietly been eviscerated.
Self-Funding Harberger Taxes (gwern.net)
Hampering the current life+n years system of unregistered copyrights is the dual problem of mismanagement & orphan works.
Norway Shrugged (paragraph.xyz)
Recently, my story as a Norwegian entrepreneur facing an unrealized gains wealth tax bill many times higher than my net income went viral, amassing over 100 million views on X. A few years ago I publicly called out that this tax is both impossible-to-pay and nonsensical, but no politician would listen. So I made the difficult decision to leave my home country.
California loses professional workers to low-tax states like Arizona, Texas (nypost.com)
Tens of thousands of professionals left California last year while fewer moved in to the state as the exorbitant cost of living as well as high taxes make it harder to retain talent.
America's billionaires are worth a record $6T (usatoday.com)
America’s billionaires are now collectively worth a record $6 trillion. Their wealth has more than doubled since the passage of the landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017.