• laverabe@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    49
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    9 months ago

    I’m 100% for a simple IRS tax return but what the heck is with this?

    To use Direct File, you need an IRS account with ID.me.

    To get an ID.me account, you need to:

    Take a video of your face

    If you can’t or don’t want to take a video of your face, you can have a video call with an ID.me agent who will confirm that your face matches your identification.

    Is that really necessary???

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      29
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      9 months ago

      It’s the same as going to a bank and letting the teller look at your face. It’s to prevent someone from stealing your identity using a picture of your ID.

      How can they verify the ID is real without physically seeing it? They look up the info but still need to verify that you are the person on the ID.

      • EssentialCoffee@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        35
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        9 months ago

        How have they been verifying mailed in tax forms with no pictures for decades?

        Seems like it unnecessarily disenfranchises the poor and the elderly. You have to have access to equipment that can record you and the tech savvy to be able to use it.

      • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        19
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        9 months ago

        Ok but how come H&R Block doesn’t need to do this? I just give them my IRS PIN and the AGI from last year’s return. The picture shit feels like a poison pill

        • Gestrid@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          9 months ago

          I’m pretty sure you’re required to provide your driver’s license info at some point during the sign-up process, actually. Though it’s been a while, so I don’t remember for sure.

          If it’s like I remember, it’s to confirm that the person on the ID matches the person who’s signing up. Banks do the same when the teller asks for your ID. And so do the people who ask for your ID when you go to vote. It’s the same basic process. It’s just digital instead of in-person.

    • Reddfugee42@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      19
      arrow-down
      7
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      Stupid fraud prevention ugh!

      Listen folks, if you have a driver license, they already have your face, so settle down.

      • laverabe@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        9 months ago

        countries with no national ID cards and no plans for one: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK. 1

        And they do taxes just fine without a Harry Potter like gif of every tax payer.

        Privacy reasons aside, TurboTax doesn’t require a video clip to file your taxes so this is only raising the technical barrier against the widespread adoption of a simple tax system.

      • Sl00k@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        9 months ago

        I don’t mind this being done through the government site, but it shouldn’t be done by a third party business.

      • Gestrid@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        9 months ago

        I imagine that for many Americans, they don’t have a government issued id

        That’s only the case in a few select cities, like New York. Most other people have an ID of some sort. (And, even if you don’t want a driver’s license, it’s still possible to get a government-issued ID that doesn’t let you drive but still verifies your identity.) The US is huge. It takes at least a few days to travel across it. And most of it, especially out in the Midwest, is still pretty rural.

        As for the “two forms of ID”, they actually require four types of documents (though some documents can be submitted for two or more of those things; at minimum, you need two documents total), at least in my state, when you first get a driver’s license. So most places will simply use your driver’s license by itself since it proves that you’ve already proven your identity. Anywhere that does require two proofs will usually use your social security card and your driver’s license.