east village idiot

Great Mysteries in New York: Form IT-2

April 10, 2008 – 12:30 pm

I have always done my taxes on my own. I don’t need to shovel out money for someone to do it for me, I don’t need any fancy software, and my finances are pretty damn simple.

When I moved to New York State, I quickly learned how absolutely retarded this state’s tax forms are.

I have to give them credit - it used to be much worse. The first time I filed, in 2003, the progression of the state tax form was generally:

Line 28: Enter amount above.
Line 29: Enter Child Tax Credit.
Line 30: Subtract Line 29 from Line 28.
Line 31: Enter School Tax Credit.
Line 32: Subtract Line 31 from Line 30.

Thankfully, that’s gotten better this year. But what will boggle my mind for years to come is a relatively recent addition to the New York State Tax Return: form IT-2.

Form IT-2 is not the standard, four-page tax return… that’s IT-201. And there’s actually a short form, which is only two pages, but you can’t use that form if you live in New York City. Thanks, you fucking Nazis in Albany. Instead, form IT-2 is the biggest waste of paper on the face of the earth.

Form IT-2 is a curious beast. I can’t really explain its purpose. You know how you get those W-2s from your employer every year? You know how they have several copies, including one for the state? There’s a reason they do that: so you can include that copy with your state tax return. But rather than do that, the assholes in Albany would rather insist that you print out an entire two-page tax form that forces you to replicate everything that’s already on your W-2 (and nothing more).

You know what would make a lot more sense, New York State? Letting us send our fucking W-2s. I only had one W-2 this year, so I printed out a two-page form to fill out about one-third of one page - with information that was already readily available on an official Federal tax document. Apparently, what’s good for the IRS isn’t good enough for New York State.

Along with my taxes next year, maybe I’ll send twelve copies of the portion of my W-2 marked “New York State Filing Copy,” and stick them in the envelope instead of form IT-2. That’s about how much paper is wasted per taxpayer each year by making us fill out this pointless form.