Ask HN: How do you handle VAT / Sales Tax accounting as B2C SaaS?

One of the most horrible aspect of the tax system is that individuals are held responsible for ensuring that they calculate and pay the correct amounts. It's kind of messed up that not only we have to pay tax, but the government doesn't even have the responsibility of telling us how much we owe it or what specific work which it did is covered by the payment.

Every other entity on this planet who wants to obtain money from another entity needs to tell them exactly how much is owed and exactly what goods and services are covered by that payment.

But the government not only doesn't have to report what work it did to warrant the payment, it doesn't even need to tell us the specific amount which we owe it; it's on us to figure that out... Figuring that out is complex and sometimes expensive too; many people can't afford. The gig economy is creating complex tax situations even for poor people. If we calculate incorrectly, then we suffer consequences. It's oppressive.

I know some people will read this and think I'm off on a wild tangent... But my friend, I'm actually addressing the core of the issue here. It's you who is on a wild tangent addressing superficial edge cases. The superficial cases aren't worth discussing; VAT, GST, CGT, income Tax and all other acronyms... Just don't participate in this system. Sell your business, change countries, go on unemployment benefits or whatever until this issue is fixed. How can a rational person operate in this environment? I can't believe some people work for fun. It's the most rigged, boring game ever.

It's kind of messed up that not only we have to pay tax, but the government doesn't even have the responsibility of telling us how much we owe it or what specific work which it did is covered by the payment.

This is wrong. The IRS isn't allowed to tell us how much we owe, because a certain party currently in power has spent several decades preventing it from doing so. The IRS would love to have a system like they do in other countries, because it's way simpler than what we currently have, and for most taxpayers they already have all of the information they need to do it. For the remainder of taxpayers (including especially gig workers and other independent contractors): the IRS doesn't have all the information it would need to calculate income tax correctly; so these taxpayers would have to stick with the current self-calculation system even if the IRS were allowed to switch to the IRS-calculated system.

And on that second note: if the IRS disagrees with how much you claim to owe, they tell you how much you owe based on the information they have. It's then the taxpayers' responsibility to correct them by providing additional information. If it comes to an audit, the IRS will tell you in exacting detail exactly how they determined your tax liability, even citing the specific laws and regulations for any items in conflict.