Because it’s a gift to corporations at the expense of taxpayers.
It means that any company can take that code, modify it (as would be required every year per IRS tax changes), and resell it without being required to publish the source code changes.
What many European countries are doing is requiring the government to publish code under a copyleft license. That would allow companies to also benefit from this code to make their own tools (which they could also sell), and it would require them to publish the source code of their improvements.
Basically copyleft legally ensures collaboration. Public domain does not.
Because it’s a gift to corporations at the expense of taxpayers.
Seeing as how the free filing system was shot in the head several times for no other reason but that it directly benefits tax payers, that’s not much of gift in comparison to the fact that tax payers will have to keep paying money anyway. If it’s any consolation, we might get a FOSS tax filer, which is still better then the current form we got.
Eh, I wouldn’t call them assholes for that. I’m sure there’s a minefield of legal issues that could come up that is mitigated by releasing it to public domain. By the same logic, anyone can also take the code, modify it, then release their modifications with a copy left license.
Because it’s a gift to corporations at the expense of taxpayers.
It means that any company can take that code, modify it (as would be required every year per IRS tax changes), and resell it without being required to publish the source code changes.
What many European countries are doing is requiring the government to publish code under a copyleft license. That would allow companies to also benefit from this code to make their own tools (which they could also sell), and it would require them to publish the source code of their improvements.
Basically copyleft legally ensures collaboration. Public domain does not.
Seeing as how the free filing system was shot in the head several times for no other reason but that it directly benefits tax payers, that’s not much of gift in comparison to the fact that tax payers will have to keep paying money anyway. If it’s any consolation, we might get a FOSS tax filer, which is still better then the current form we got.
Eh, I wouldn’t call them assholes for that. I’m sure there’s a minefield of legal issues that could come up that is mitigated by releasing it to public domain. By the same logic, anyone can also take the code, modify it, then release their modifications with a copy left license.