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http://www.tesouro.fazenda.gov.br/tesouro_direto/rentabilidade.asp You get ~20% APR with CD in Brazil in Reais. Also the dollar is melting worldwide, you can benefit from it. http://www.google.com/finance?q=USDBRL

"Its not that hard to fill out a W-2 form. And even with tax programs, you are still going to need to enter the same information. If your taxes are a bit more complex, those programs are very useful, but not everyone is going to need that."

In 2005, 20 million of federal income taxes of Brazil were done over the Internet, representing 98%.

Source: http://www.fazenda.gov.br/portugues/releases/2006/ r100206c.asp (Offical Federal Taxes of Brazil)

The Brazilian IR has (official) electronic tax returns programs for Windows AND other systems - Linux, Mac, Solaris etc, though for this second group the program is in Java. But better than nothing. Check the link (Disclaimar: Brazilian Portuguese!!!): http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br/PessoaFisica/IRP F/2005/PGDJAVA/progIRPF2005multiplataforma.htm

Since 1990's Brazilians can do taxes by computer... Details (in portuguese, of course) available at http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br/Pagamentos/Pagto IRPF/default.htm

In Brazil, the tax authorities write *themselves* *the* tax program, which is written in Java - .jar or with specific installers for Windows, Linux, Solaris etc, and made available for free to anyone.
Link: http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br/PessoaFisica/IRP F/2005/PGDJAVA/progIRPF2005multiplataforma.htm
There is also a Windows specific version (http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br/PessoaFisica/IR PF/2005/progIRPF2005umdisco.htm), but besides the free solution, I find it interesting they make it available to many platforms through the Java solution.

It is in their interest to ease people's lives in filing their tax forms (it increases tax collecting...).

So, at least, no expenses in software solutions. And, yet, there is also the on-line form solution.

In Brazil, the tax authorities write *themselves* *the* tax program, which is written in Java - .jar or with specific installers for Windows, Linux, Solaris etc, and made available for free to anyone.
Link: http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br/PessoaFisica/IRP F/2005/PGDJAVA/progIRPF2005multiplataforma.htm
There is also a Windows specific version (http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br/PessoaFisica/IR PF/2005/progIRPF2005umdisco.htm), but besides the free solution, I find it interesting they make it available to many platforms through the Java solution.

It is in their interest to ease people's lives in filing their tax forms (it increases tax collecting...).

So, at least, no expenses in software solutions. And, yet, there is also the on-line form solution.

In Brazil, the Brazilian Federal Inland Revenue distributes, free of charge, a Windows "tax return" application (version for individuals, though the version for corporations is also available for download, too - it just happens to use other forms and it has a different timetable).

In 2003 they started a new branch of such application, in Java, which can be used in Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris, OS2 etc. They even make it available in different download formats. It is quite a good solution.

Brazilian citizens are required to download it, fill it in and transmit it via web. If one needs to pay more taxes than he/she has paid during a certain year, a certain form is printed and used for a payment through the banking system (on-line or not); If one is entitled to getting back some cash (paid more than he/she should have), the Inland Revenue makes a deposit in your bank account in few months.

There is no fee for using the software. Actually, this would be a strange concept for Brazilians: the concept is to make it easier for people to use the electronic forms (there is still the paper ones, but less and less people use it), among other reasons, for making the tax collector's lives easier (i.e., processing the information faster, the data comes already 'formatted', easier to detect 'frauds' etc). After all, tax returns are meant for tax collecting purposes...

People can also use web forms available in the website (haven't tried those though), or the 'telephone declarations' (yep, through call centers, though these ones seem almost always busy close to the deadlines).

For the curious ones, the link is http://www.receita.fazenda.gov.br/PessoaFisica/IRP F/2004/progIRPF2004multiplataforma.htm . DISCLAIMER: BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE!
PS: Sorry for the English!

For IRS, in Brazil there's just one software provider: the government.
The software is free and has a Java version, thus you may run in any OS you like.

Here in Brasil, since 1999 IIRC, every year our IRS releases a software to do our taxes.
The software calculates everything, and at the end, registers your taxes at the IRS server, and prints a receipt. If you dont have a internet connection, you save the data in a 1.44 floppy disk and delivers it in a post office.
This year, for the first time, they released a java version, so you can run in any OS with a java VM.

Here in Brasil, since 1999 IIRC, every year our IRS releases a software to do our taxes.
The software calculates everything, and at the end, registers your taxes at the IRS server, and prints a receipt. If you dont have a internet connection, you save the data in a 1.44 floppy disk and delivers it in a post office.
This year, for the first time, they released a java version, so you can run in any OS with a java VM.

One case I would like to point is that, in Brazil, the Income Tax declaration software only runs on Windows

Actually, now there are an multiplataform Java Version.

The current Brazilian government's love for Free Software gave us a nice surprise this year by providing a nice Java app with which we can declare our anual taxes on several platforms. Until last year we had to chose between using a Windows app or using paper forms. Gee, I just realized that the Receita Federal site (our IRS equivalent) is made on plone. How nice!

The current Brazilian government's love for Free Software gave us a nice surprise this year by providing a nice Java app with which we can declare our anual taxes on several platforms. Until last year we had to chose between using a Windows app or using paper forms. Gee, I just realized that the Receita Federal site (our IRS equivalent) is made on plone. How nice!

In case anyone outside Brazil wants to take a look, you can get the program here. The module that sends the form via the Internet is here.

In case anyone outside Brazil wants to take a look, you can get the program here. The module that sends the form via the Internet is here.

but it still forces me to buy tax software every year.

Buy software? Here in Brazil, we can download the software from Receita Federal for free, and send them the information online, or go to the nearest Banco do Brasil and give them a floppy disk (for those that don't want / can't send online)

Oh, how the world has changed!

Oh, how the world has changed!