ChatGPT is basically like a really good intern, and I use it heavily that way. I run literally every email through it and say “respond to so and so, say xyz” and then maybe a little refining, copy paste, done.

The other day, my boss sent me an excel file with a shitload of data in it that he wanted me to analyze some such way. I just copy pasted it into gpt and asked it, and it spit out the correct response. Then my boss asked me to do something else that required a bit of excel finagling that I didn’t really know how to do, so i asked gpt, and it told me the formula, which worked immediately first try.

So basically it helps me accomplish tasks in seconds that previously would’ve taken hours. If anything, I think markets are currently undervalued, because remarkably, fucking NONE of my colleagues or friends are using it at all yet. Once there’s widespread adoption, which will pretty much have to happen if anyone wants to stay competitive once it gains more traction, look out…

Michael Collins has him beat though because he got to do it alone in blissful silence, with nobody around to ask him if he’s working hard or hardly working.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-sweeping-effort-to-restore-fairness-to-tax-system-with-inflation-reduction-act-funding-new-compliance-efforts

The complex structures and tax issues present in large partnerships require a focused approach to best identify the highest risk issues and apply resources accordingly. In 2021, the IRS launched the first stage of its Large Partnership Compliance (LPC) program with examinations of some of the largest and most complex partnership returns in the filing population. The IRS is now expanding the LPC program to additional large partnerships…By the end of the month, the IRS will open examinations of 75 of the largest partnerships in the U.S. that represent a cross section of industries including hedge funds, real estate investment partnerships, publicly traded partnerships, large law firms and other industries. On average, these partnerships each have more than $10 billion in assets.

Believe me when I tell you a partnership with $10b assets is insane. Auditing that is extremely labor intensive and requires a ton of highly specialized skills and that all requires resources.

There’s really nothing left to argue here so please just take this at face value and move on.

Right, well, anyway, the IRS budget just got a huge increase under the Biden administration new budget. They’re finally hiring a ton of new agents and updating their ancient tech etc. The R party fought tooth and nail against this and there’s an active smear campaign to make the average person afraid they’re coming after you. R’s managed to reduce the budget increase which is going to reduce the IRS ability to go after the whales, as you were griping about in your original post.

Yeah this is completely normal and not at all anything to flip out about. Honestly I’m surprised the reporting threshold was ever $20k to begin with. The 1099 reporting threshold for contractors has been $600 for over a decade now so I would’ve assumed the same for scalpers.

It’s super easy to implement, comply, and enforce this. Like almost automated levels of easy. It’s significantly more complex and requires tons of resources and expertise to go after the whales as you say. Resources they just don’t have. Resources that might be wasted if/when it turns out the taxpayer is fully compliant within reason.

It’s not about double standards, it’s purely logistics and resources - at least on the IRS side. Congress is responsible for their funding, or lack thereof, and it doesn’t take long to figure out who’s responsible for the lack of it. So I’d encourage you to focus your ire on the response political party, not the IRS itself.

All that happened here is they lowered the reporting threshold to cast a wider net and force people to reported income they otherwise could have just not mentioned. It’s not quite like flipping a switch but it’s relatively easy to comply with, and relatively easy to enforce. “Fixing taxes” is significantly more complicated, to say the least.

Adding to this: SEC regs for officers in public companies require them to plan and disclose trades well in advance. It’s not exactly my field and I’m way too lazy to research, but it’s probably like one or two quarters in advance. This is to prevent market panic and speculation exactly like the bs in this thread.

Besides slashdot back in the day I’m not sure if there’s a single place on the internet where people stop to think. And slashdot was heavily biased too come to think of it.

Once for my birthday my aunt baked me not one but two cakes! She couldn’t remember if I prefer chocolate or vanilla so she just made both. That was a week of indulgence I vividly remember, and my god at the end there I was so relieved those damn cakes were eaten omg XD

It’s just one of the pipes in the interweb plumbing system duh. (That’s actually a slightly better metaphor than I was going for come to think of it.)

Anyone here old enough to remember the dot com bubble in the 90’s? Like really remember the hype and insanely bloated overpriced IPOs and all that? This feels exactly the same way.

I read once we shouldn’t be worried when AI starts passing Turing tests, we should worry when they start failing them again 🤣

It’s a ton don’t get me wrong but I’ve had clients who regularly make $50 million + annually on average. They spend a million bucks a year on household employees alone. Different world up there.

Off topic but I always thought the airbnb logo looks like a dangling ballsack and their service fits well with that image, so I’m not the least bit surprised to see the company struggling.

You’d be surprised. Small business owners are notorious for running non-deductible personal expenses through their business for example when they really shouldn’t. Plus some super egregious stuff I can’t begin to get into here. It is trivially easy and the state/fed gov can’t begin to crack down for lack of resources. These are your tradesmen like plumbers and electricians, boutique shop owners, salons, food/catering, smaller self employed professionals like doctors, lawyers, therapists, dentists, etc. It’s sort of a grey area and there’s wiggle room for sure, and I try not to let my clients get away with all of it. But I do look the other way a lot and just plug my nose and sign it and push it through when I’m in a hurry, which is basically always. Some people are just maniacs though, it’s really staggering, idk how they sleep at night. Smaller numbers than a hedge fund manager making $50 mil, but it adds up real quick, and fraud is fraud IMO.

Holy cow late 2000s…man it’s too bad you missed the 90’s. There were TONS of forums and real communities built around hobbies, interests, fandoms, etc. I really really miss them. I had real actual friends online. I blame facebook reddit et al for their demise. These huge websites are like the wal marts of the internet destroying small communities.

I guess I meant I didn’t realize these things can and do swing back and forth with the political pendulum. It just felt more permanent ish than that, idk.

Why, because it’s cheaper to get sued for a few bucks than to not be a shitty company? Interesting. Like Ed Norton’s car recall equation in Fight Club. Got a source? Not challenging you but I’m curious if that’s your opinion or a known concept.

Feels like every Evil Corporation ™ has gone this route. In ye olden days it used to be a competitive market where businesses tried to provide the best product and services for the best prices. Then at some point everyone collectively decided to start doing as little as possible without getting sued. I’m so sick of it.

Regarding tax compliance for individuals, if you have the slightest complications in your financial situation, it might be best to pay a small time preparer $500 to deal with the hassle. Software isn’t cheap these days so might as well pay a small premium for the better service a pro provides. (Disclaimer: I am a pro so my opinion is biased.)