Ok, video games have peaked.
There's a visual novel coming out that supposedly actually prepares your 2022 US federal tax return through romancing an anime girl.
I…. man, this is a lot. https://t.co/TR3XMMruYM pic.twitter.com/am2gk9Iodu
— HDKirin (@HD_Kirin) March 22, 2023
Look, they said, the newest scam to harvest Social Security numbers! So easy, even a pig butcher can play it!
Well, they sure know their target audience… pic.twitter.com/qtUBFCT7Ea
— Ziyan Su ???? | ??Music Producer?? | Gacha Waifu (@Ziyan_Su420) March 22, 2023
Except, blessedly (probably?), it was created as a new form of tax protest. Per PC Gamer, “Anime dating sim that can prepare your taxes was removed from Steam but its developers say they want to disrupt corporations, not steal your social security number”:
Tax Heaven 3000 is one of the more unusual genre mashups I’ve run into. It’s a visual novel dating game, and it will also do your taxes—if you’re a US citizen, anyway. Weird, right? Also weird is its extremely brief history on Steam: It appeared on the storefront earlier this week, but just a day later it was taken offline.
The game stars Iris, “a cheerful, assertive girl” who’s filing her taxes singly this year. You can take her on dates across five different locations, and learn about her past, her likes and dislikes, and who she likes, which I have to assume is a reference to you, the player. She’ll also help you prepare your taxes, for real:
“Tax Heaven 3000 is designed to prepare 2022 US federal income tax returns for single filers without dependents,” the still-extant Itch.io page says. “Tax Heaven 3000 does not support all tax situations, and may not check for all possible deductions and credits that could apply to your individual tax situation. Tax Heaven 3000 is intended for filers with simple W-2 income, does not support amended or late tax returns, and does not support state returns…
Filing taxes is, at its core, an exercise in sharing personal data, and that makes Tax Heaven 3000 look potentially very very unusual in terms of what it asks players to hand over: It’s one thing to take your taxes to H&R Block, but something else altogether to hand them over to an anime girl in a videogame. Daniel Greenberg, the co-founder of developer MSCHF, acknowledged that worry but told Kotaku that the game does not connect to the internet—presumably why you have to handle the actual filing yourself…
MSCHF is an art collective that “subverts mass/popular culture and corporate operations as tools for critique and intervention.” Among other things, it’s the company that teamed up with Lil Nas X to make Satan Shoes, a collaboration that led it into a legal beef with Nike. Still, I’d be awfully iffy about dropping my tax details into Tax Heaven 3000—which is to say, I just wouldn’t do it. Valve apparently had similar concerns, because a day after the game’s Steam page went live, it was taken down.
Just before the store page was wiped, MSCHF updated the store page description to say that Steam was “deplatforming” the game—visible via SteamDB (opens in new tab)—and hinted that “maybe TurboTax sent a check” to make it happen. I assume that’s not a serious allegation, but MSCHF definitely has some beef with TurboTax and other companies like it…
“Most wealthy countries make tax filing free, if the burden of preparation is even passed along to individuals at all. TurboTax actively seeks to backdoor the regulatory structure that could otherwise seek to rein it in. And it works! The villainous corporation that controls the government from the shadows is a sadly mundane reality. It’s the most boring industry imaginable.”
Tax Heaven 3000, the site states, is essentially a response to that: Where TurboTax is predicated on the “fear, uncertainty, and doubt” people have about taxes, Tax Heaven 3000 is “built on parasocial desire for intimacy and benign horniness.”
“All of TurboTax’s cutesy loading animations are fake graphics; TH3K simply makes the fiction the point,” the site states. “For some reason the game-to-real-life interface has tended to remain in the purview of corporate metaverse fictions. TH3K is a dongle that adapts from a visual novel to the IRS.”…
Greenberg said MSCHF isn’t looking to get Tax Heaven 3000 back on Steam, which I suppose is understandable since it doesn’t know why it was removed in the first place. Instead, the game will be available on Itch.io and directly from taxheaven3000.com —pricing isn’t listed but the SteamDB entry for the deleted Steam store page indicates that it will be free to play. A collector’s edition, with a boxed copy of the game and—of course—an Iris body pillow will also be available…
Intuit is in the workshop cooking up the nastiest, most depraved version of TurboTax humans can imagine to respond https://t.co/9y44ybDKmp
— The Mall Krampus (@cakotz) March 22, 2023
Steam, goddamnit, it is my God-given right to divulge my SSN to the anime woman if I so choose pic.twitter.com/gmnJeSQfag
— Djinn & Tonic ???? (@HegelwCrmCheese) March 23, 2023
War for Ukraine Day 397: A New Week Begins
Alison Rose
Filing taxes is already annoying enough.
Major Major Major Major
I saw that, so awesome lol.
I’m actually working on a visual novel/dating sim/puzzler/platformer/cosmic horror mystery right now… (hey, make the game you want to play…) the engine is about halfway done. My friend and I are going to do the first act to confirm viability and then kickstarter it so we can afford to commission real art and dedicate the time to finishing it. Such a fun project! Really enjoying writing it.
piratedan
now what would be truly evil is if you only got the “good ending” if you ended up having to pay both the Feds and the State……
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
When I first saw the first tweet on this post, I assumed it was a shitpost. Reading the game is by an art collective to basically troll TurboTax and poke fun at Weeabo stereotypes, my assumption is confirmed.
OT:
Wanted to give an update on that new automatic watch I bought a few weeks ago, here’s a review I wrote for it:
I have a funny story. So when I first unboxed the watch and tried to start it by shaking it (since it can’t be hand wound), I thought I accidentally broke it! I gradually started shaking it harder when I only saw the second hand move about 30 seconds and then stop as soon as I ceased movement. The watch started up after about a minute of very vigorous shaking…and then started gaining 15 seconds a minute when I compared it to my phone’s stopwatch! After about 12 hours, it had gained something in the neighborhood of about 12 hours or so from real time
Later that day, the watch was running normally and since then it’s only gained about 20 seconds in the nearly two weeks I’ve been wearing it. Marc, the owner of Long Island Watch, was very nice and helpful in emails.
There’s something really charming about wearing a small mechanical machine on your wrist that’s powered by your own movement. The sweeping seconds hand is mesmerizing and it’s pretty amazing that mechanicals are as accurate as they are considering they’re made up of lots of moving parts, compared to a quartz movement or something digital like a phone or computer
For my next watch purchase, I plan on a red dial Orient Kamasu diver, probably for my birthday later this year
I think for a small entry level collection, it will tick a few boxes: dive watch, sport watch, and casual watch. The Seiko SNKL23J1 can be a dress watch and a casual daily driver.
Later down the road, i have my eyes set on the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical, also known as the Khaki Field Officer Handwinding to fill the field watch niche. I like the army green case and dial as well as canvas strap.
Then, I’d like to get the Bulova Lunar Pilot, a true moonwatch for an affordable price that also is a good chronograph to have in a collection
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Major Major Major Major:
Were you inspired by Doki Doki Literature Club?
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): absolutely not haha. I tried playing that one time and got so bored I didn’t even make it to the weird parts. This is more in the Danganronpa vein, and with more of a Ron Gilbert feel.
As for watches, I’ll be in Japan in may and am due for a new automatic anyway, so I’ll be shopping for domestic Seikos, I know they have some cool non-export models.
JWR
Turned on local TV news and wow!
Just noting that the person in the made-for-TV vehicle launch is apparently okay.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Major Major Major Major:
Really? I never played it and have just watched let’s plays by jacksepticeye and Markiplier, but I thought it was a great meta narrative on dating sims
Be sure to post pictures of your new watch after you get it. With the dollar being so strong recently, you should get good deals on them
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@JWR:
I saw that earlier today. Looked straight out of a movie! Glad to hear the Kia driver is ok
Major Major Major Major
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I prefer “games with dating sim elements” to actual dating sims (which are mostly pretty lightweight anyway as I’m sure you know). You can really staple a dating sim to anything
Origuy
The name of this company is MSCHF? As in mischief?
Chris T.
Note that Elizabeth Warren wants to have the IRS do the same thing the German revenue system uses: for most workers, they’ll send you a pre-filled-out form showing what they think you earned and therefore what they think you owe, and you can either agree to that, or fill out your own forms instead. So the average person won’t need any fancy software, or H&R Blockhead, or whatever: just check that the amount you earned looks right, the amount withheld looks right, your standard deductions if any look right, and you’re good.
It’s not perfect (no taxation system ever is) but it’s a helluvalot better than what we have today.
Splitting Image
Hopefully this will be the end of “disruption” as a buzzword, but that might be overly optimistic.
We should start thinking about a new buzzword for everyone to start using. How about “fetch”?
Major Major Major Major
@Splitting Image: I’m afraid disruption is pretty well entrenched these days. Trust me I was just at a conference. Hmm I should write that up.
Steve in the ATL
@Chris T.: her efforts have been blocked for years by major lobbying by TurboTax and H&R Block
Baud
You could do both and have a little tax season ménage à trois.
Baud
FYI in case people didn’t know.
https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free
Brachiator
@Chris T.:
There are currently a number of free File services available, listed at the IRS website. But yeah, the IRS could do the taxes for most filers if staffing and funding were brought up to speed.
And it’s not just tax software companies that keep this from happening. The Republicans want people to feel miserable about filing taxes and fight efforts to modernize the system and to have the IRS provide filing services.
John Revolta
@Splitting Image: Stop trying to make fetch happen.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Splitting Image:
I don’t get it. What does that mean in this context?
Birdie
@Brachiator: not only that – putting tax filing entirely on the taxpayer, when the IRS already has practically all the relevant info for a W2 employee with some taxable accounts, seems like an invitation to fraud, or at least costly inadvertent error.
And the existence of free file because the government requires it is not the same as “free file services are user friendly, easy to access and lots of people know about them”. It’s a frustrating and inefficient system that feels like it could be so much better (this is why I liked Warren the candidate, because of her proposals to solve fixable problems).
Betty Cracker
I’ve wondered if we’d see societal fallout related to the tax implications of the gig economy, especially with so many young folks who might not know their obligations as a contractor working those jobs. But if there’s been a huge uptick in tax delinquency, I haven’t heard about it.
Hangö Kex
@Chris T.: We get a similar pre-filled tax form in Finland: the tax office knows the income subject to tax withholding (salary, pension, …) and we get a pre-filled form with these filled in which we can let be our return by doing nothing by the due date, or edit/amend/completely replace. Many (most?) people can take the latter option as there is a standard deduction that makes itemized ones moot for many (most?). This is also available on-line to edit/amend if desired (which I prefer); overall, this is pretty convenient compared to the old system where you’d fill a blank paper form and mail it back, especially the part where you usually don’t have to do anything. :)
VeniceRiley
Expat taxes aren’t due until June. Maybe I can find an affordable accountant by then for a simple 1040,520,and FBAR. THE QUOTES I’VE BEEN GETTING ARE REDIC.
Tony Jay
@Major Major Major Major:
“The world of political campaigning was rocked today when the previously moribund Baud/Leatherface campaign revealed their revolutionary new model for promoting voter engagement and breeding a new generation of pantless cannibal Americans.”
BAUD/LEATHERFACE ‘24
’We like Freedom, Puppies and Long-Pig’
Hangö Kex
@Steve in the ATL: @Chris T.:
*shakes tiny fist* (@(TurboTax, H&R and lobbyists in general))
Brachiator
@Birdie:
Yes, this drives me crazy. But the sad fact is that lower income people often don’t have strong advocates in Congress. The VITA program offers free tax preparation services, but I hardly see this advertised and it is not always easy to find VITA locations. IRS free file service is also not well advertised.
As many have noted, the IRS could handle most of this, but this is a low priority for Congress, and GOP opposition is fierce.
Hangö Kex
@Hangö Kex: Ouch. Screwed my post up by editing and leaving in ‘latter’ which I should have changed to ‘former’ or ‘first’ i.e. many (most?) people need not to do anything (thanks to the pre-filled form and the standard deduction).
Circular Reasoning
For the last two years I have filed via Cash App for free without any issues or complaints. Shocking given my vast and extensive financial holdings :-p
Juice Box
@VeniceRiley: Doing those forms yourself isn’t at all difficult. I’ve helped a couple of “accidental Americans” do them. I haven’t looked at the IRS’s new free efile system yet, but it’s supposed to be pretty good.
For those of you who live in the US, the VITA and AARP tax services will do your taxes for free. Most AARP sites will do taxes for you no matter what your age, even if their mission is supposed to be for seniors
https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/locations.html
https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/
VeniceRiley
@Juice Box: thanks. I’m thinking I’ll give it a go.
Frankensteinbeck
I strongly suspect Steam pulled this because if it is less than perfect they think they’ll get sued.
@Major Major Major Major:
So, Sucker For Love, but with action! I salute you, and wish you vast success.
I perfectly understand why someone might get bored. It does pretend to be normal and take quite awhile to get to the weird parts, but the weird parts are very, very weird. And very, very dark.
sab
@Betty Cracker: Lyft and Uber send their contractors statements with enough information that tax prep should be fairly easy.
kalakal
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Glad you’re liking it. Seiko make great watches
@Major Major Major Major:
Oh now that makes me jealous. let me loose in Japan and I’d come back with a ton of non export watch models and electric guitars ( Tokyo has the most incredible instrument shops)
Yutsano
@Birdie:
I really really wish people would stop thinking this. The fact is: your W-2 information doesn’t go to the IRS first. It goes to Social Security. When the SSA has finished processing the information then it goes to the IRS. For the big businesses that use the electronic filing system we have then yeah we have everything by February usually. But not every business uses that nor are they obligated to. Paper W-2 and W-3 forms are processed as fast as SSA can do them. We often don’t get an accurate picture of someone’s tax information until June. And tax deadline hasn’t moved since I don’t know when.
stinger
OP:
Until I read the article at the link, I thought it was going to be about Joni Ernst.
Xavier
I was really hoping that ChatGPT would do my taxes this year.
Major Major Major Major
@Frankensteinbeck:
Sorrrta. We have a fresh take on the mythos!
gvg
@Baud: The “free files” are links to a bunch of different private tax companies who each do a different segment of people based on income, age and what state you live in. So you have to pick someone. Its not government software. They aren’t all equally as easy to use and you have to set up an account with whomever you choose. Sometimes they say you don’t match their criteria and you have to choose someone else and start over. The next year the choices are probably different but if they are the same you need to remember the account and password you set up in one of the prior years…..
It’s all baby sitting in order not to just put tax prep companies out of business. If the IRS does any of the logical things, that is what will happen, most of the tax prep companies will be gone.
Not sure I care. Job market is pretty good right now. Tired of being harrased.
Oh and the IRS direct stuff is hard to use. Its the last step, getting signature accepted that screws it up and forces you to use one of the private companies.
Sloegin
If something like this only stole and sold as much info as Turbo Tax does, (and the forms it generated were accurate), would play.
Don’t judge me.