Australia: Online petition to make e-tax OS independent/linux friendly

[laffinet]

The Australian Tax Office is providing a software called e-tax that enables you to lodge your tax return online.
Problem with this software is that it is windows only, effectively further cementing the monopoly of Microsoft.

An online petition has been set up to support the push for an OS independent version of the software.

If you agree, please go here: http://www.petitiononline.com/FreeEtax/petition.html (http://www.petitiononline.com/FreeEtax/petition.html)and sign it.

Thanks.

[tgalati4]

Wasn't Australia founded by people who didn't pay their taxes?

[Grant A.]

Wasn't Austrailia founded by people who didn't pay their taxes?

:lolflag:


Online petitions don't work. Hand written ones, however, do.

[laffinet]

I should probably mention that several people have also submitted official complaints with the ATO, referencing this online petition in their complaint, so it does get some further elevation.

[laffinet]

Wasn't Austrailia founded by people who didn't pay their taxes?


Hey, unlike other states and cities in Australia, Adelaide (which is where I am) wasn't founded by convicts ! :biggrin:

[pt123]

There are probably 100 Linux users in Australia, I don't my taxes wasted just to support 40 users (60% probably don't have a job) for an application that they use once a year.
I can understand an Apple version though.

[Stainesy]

The yearly tax return is one of only two reason why I bother to keep an MS-XP partition on one of my PC's.

[laffinet]

There are probably 100 Linux users in Australia, I don't my taxes wasted just to support 40 users (60% probably don't have a job) for an application that they use once a year.

Yeah, right...:rolleyes:

I don't think you got the numbers right, but apart from that the push is not for a linux version, but for an OS independent version.
Why should I have to buy a windows licence to be able to lodge my tax via e-tax ?

[NovaAesa]

Signed =]

[Grant A.]

Yeah, right...:rolleyes:

I don't think you got the numbers right, but apart from that the push is not for a linux version, but for an OS independent version.
Why should I have to buy a windows licence to be able to lodge my tax via e-tax ?

Making an online version based on AJAX and PHP would probably be the cheapest way to go.

[JohnFH]

I don't think you got the numbers right, but apart from that the push is not for a linux version, but for an OS independent version.
Why should I have to buy a windows licence to be able to lodge my tax via e-tax ?

Presumably you can still submit your tax return using good old-fashioned pen and paper? If so, then what about the users who don't have computers at all? Are they discriminated against as well? Of course not, because the old method still exists and it is their choice not to have a computer therefore, as a result of their choice, they can only submit using pen & paper. Similarly for people who use Linux - should the government be blamed for their choice of OS?

(Edit: I don't disagree entirely with your argument, just presenting a different, but still valid, point of view).

[Chilli Bob]

Why should I have to buy a windows licence to be able to lodge my tax via e-tax ?

Exactly right! I contacted the ATO about this last year and they responded saying that they were planning to have an OS independent version by this year. Gee, I wonder what happened in the meantime??

EDIT: SIGNED! I wonder if there is a Facebook group about this?

[3rdalbum]

Wasn't Austrailia founded by people who didn't pay their taxes?

Not at all. It was founded by people who were not taxed, because they did not do a legal line of work.

[tgalati4]

I stand corrected.

Sounds like a business opportunity. Build an on-line tax-submission service and sell it to the government.

[RiceMonster]

there are probably 100 linux users in australia, i don't my taxes wasted just to support 40 users (60% probably don't have a job) for an application that they use once a year.
I can understand an apple version though.

lol

[philipm]

There are probably 100 Linux users in Australia, I don't my taxes wasted just to support 40 users (60% probably don't have a job) for an application that they use once a year.
I can understand an Apple version though.

Some of those 60% would do the port for free, then, so what’s your problem? :wink:

As author of the petition, I specifically made it platform-neutral. The bigger issue is that someone buying a general-purpose computing platform should not have their choice constrained by a government agency. That amounts to supporting a monopoly.

For more on motivation and how to make your case stronger, see my blog, where I give some pointers on where to make a formal complaint (http://opinion-nation.blogspot.com/2009/07/free-etax-software.html). The idea is to have complaints backed up by the petition to illustrate that it’s more than a couple of geeks complaining. If the number of signatures tops 1,000 and a substantial number of people complain to the ATO – and at least one of the politicians I complain to take the thing up – there’s some chance of action.

For those who would prefer a paper petition, go ahead. More than one effort will be great. I don’t have time to do this another way. If you think my letter to various politicians and ATO will not be enough, feel free to write your own letter. If there's one thing that scares politicians more than a coordinated campaign, it’s an issue that comes out of nowhere.

The thing that annoys me about the whole episode is that it smacks of Microsoft telling them how to offer alternatives. Their Mac solution (http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/73931.htm) is Microsoft’s Virtual PC, which is no longer supported, and only works on older (PowerPC) Macs. They offer no solution for Linux. There are other virtualisers out there that may well work and they haven’t bothered to test them. (I’ve tried wine without success.)

[slayer95]

Yeah, right...:rolleyes:

I don't think you got the numbers right, but apart from that the push is not for a linux version, but for an OS independent version.
Why should I have to buy a windows licence to be able to lodge my tax via e-tax ?



How would the ATO feel about claiming a windows licence as a deduction for managing my tax affairs?

[laffinet]

If the ATO would provide a linux software only and no windows or mac version...
But somehow I don't think that's going to happen.

[Dalek Draco ON LINUX]

There are probably 100 Linux users in Australia, I don't my taxes wasted just to support 40 users (60% probably don't have a job) for an application that they use once a year.
I can understand an Apple version though.

lol slightly few too many zeros in that proposition I think. Besides, how would it be a waste of your taxes funding a compatible etax, surely it would cost more to print off 40 tax returns in hard copy, mail them to each person, and then process them without electronic aid? Ha checkmate....possibly.....:S I emailed the tax office asking them to make a Linux compatible etax, after I left Windows earlier this year, and found that I needed to reinstall in order to lodge my tax return. I'm no longer dual booting, and I have no intention of buying Windows 7 just to submit the tax return. If push comes to shove....I'll install Windows 7 RC when its time to lodge a tax return next year.

[Sean Moran]

If it's anything to so with the ATO they can do what they like with it, for all I care now...

[hobo14]

There are probably 100 Linux users in Australia, I don't my taxes wasted just to support 40 users (60% probably don't have a job) for an application that they use once a year.
I can understand an Apple version though.

Aren't we a lovely little ray of sunshine?

[Exodist]

Wasn't Australia founded by people who didn't pay their taxes?

The USA was also, then we threw their damn tea into the Boston harbor..

[3rdalbum]

There are probably hundreds of web programmers skilled in PHP or ASP who are looking for work.

The government could probably pay some of them not much more than what they currently get on the dole, to build a new platform-independent system.

[BuffaloX]

If Australia had made this some 15 years ago, would they have made an OS/2 only version? I'm just wondering. :razz:

[RichardLinx]

Signed.

[markbuntu]

You people really need to bug your local member of parliment about this so they can embarrass the PM at question time and get it on the news. !!!Government Pushes Foreign Monopoly of Taxpayer Returns!!!!

That will get some fast action.

[N2G(bn#7+]

According to this IT Wire article (http://www.itwire.com/content/view/26313/1141/), you can run eTax in the latest version of WINE. However, in my test (Ubuntu 9.04, WINE from the normal repositories) this worked for installation but not actually running the app - I just get a blank grey window with the etax title bar & chrome.

I guess it doesn't work, unless I'm doing something wrong?

Also, belatedly signed the petition.