Tax Time I sent off my check to the IRS today. I owed some taxes. Actually thought I had been paying them all along: Building Permit Tax Capital Gains Tax CDL license Tax Cigarette Tax (luckily I don't smoke, ok.. but if I did..) Corporate Income Tax (Ah...the privileges of being an LLC) Court Fines (indirect taxes) Dog License Tax Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax (no bouillabaise next year!, I promise) Fed Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon) (And you think the oil companies are gouging us!..) State Gas tax 13 cents/gallon Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Interest expense (tax on the money) Inventory tax IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax) IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) (Yep! I gotta pay that because I didn't withhold enough tax..) Liquor Tax (or, as I like to refer to it as my liquid medicine) Local Income Tax Luxury Taxes Marriage License Tax (never do that again) Medicare Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Septic Permit Tax Service Charge Taxes Social Security Tax Road Usage Taxes (Truckers pass this along in the stuff we buy, believe me) Sales Taxes Recreational Vehicle Tax Road Toll Booth Taxes School Tax! State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax Telephone federal excise tax Telephone federal universal service fee tax Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax Telephone state and local tax Telephone usage charge tax Toll Bridge Taxes Toll Tunnel Taxes Traffic Fines (indirect taxation) Trailer registration tax (again another pass along) Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation Tax COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was the most prosperous in the world, had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What the hell happened? Howsa 'bout the welfare state? Look. I don't mind paying taxes. Really! I just think that our tax system is broken and needs to be fixed. It is a disgrace that the average American family is unable to compute their own taxes. It is also a disgrace that our tax code is so confusing that even the IRS cannot figure it out. And speaking of the IRS, if you are audited it is up to you to prove your innocence rather than the IRS having to prove your guilt. You wanna fix the tax code? Here are ways that would do it: 1. No withholding. What a scam this is. "Oh boy! I'm getting money back!" No you sleepy ignorant tool! You are getting money back that you lent the gummint at zero percent interest. If everyone had to sit down and write the gummint a check for their tax bill on April 15, the tax code would be overhauled in no time flat. Either that, or there would be a bunch of politicians out of work. 2. After eliminating withholding, move the election to April 15.. 3. Make every representative and senator do their own taxes and be audited by the IRS. I guarantee the tax code would be simplified. Can you imagine young Bush trying to do his own taxes? I'm sure I missed a few.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kirbinster @ Apr 13 2006, 12:06 PM) [snapback]239130[/snapback]</div> that's really no different than your legal system is it? although I can definitely relate... I recently got a huge state tax bill out of the blue, claiming a family member owed them around $5,000, and to pay up within 10 days... the long and the short, THEY f'd up on how they processed a 1099... Had to spend about 4 hours of my time proving to them, they were wrong... that's F'D up...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kirbinster @ Apr 13 2006, 11:06 AM) [snapback]239130[/snapback]</div> The withholding provision was pure genius, an unbelievable number of people think they are getting pennies from heaven. Can you imagine how much smaller the governements would be if everyone had to write out a check for their income taxes. The next frontier for withholding will be property taxes and personal property taxes.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Apr 13 2006, 11:22 AM) [snapback]239143[/snapback]</div> I had to write out a check for $11,011 (weird situation). It nearly killed me. That being said, while I certainly don't approve of everything the government does, I appreciate the good that is done,and am proud to pay taxes. After all, no income, no income tax! Peace--
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Apr 13 2006, 09:22 AM) [snapback]239143[/snapback]</div> Withholding is nothing more than paying the tax when it is due. April 15th is only the deadline for individuals to reconcile the books for the prior tax year. If you overpaid on your withholdings, then that is your own fault. <_< Many people already pay their property taxes via withholdings. It's called an impound account, part of the loan package used to purchase the property. Thanks to Proposition 13 here in California, how much one is going to owe in property taxes , year to year, is no mystery at all . . . so it's not like a property tax withholding scheme by the government would create a windfall of overpaid taxes. But I agree, if everyone had to pay quarterly taxes like us self-employed types, more people would be screaming for smaller government. Psychologically it hurts less to pay your taxes on installments (withholdings) than it does to physically write out a check and send it in on a quarterly basis. The cure for big government? Mandatory Monthly Federal and State Income Tax Payments by Check . . . just like your rent/mortgage, car loan, utilities, credit card, etc. Yep, I can hear the government shrinkage already.
For many years I was so poor I didn't owe any tax. Now I pay a bucket of tax every quarter plus some more in April. And I can definitely say I'd rather have money and pay tax, than have none and pay none. I think the government is criminal when it spends that money on war. But I complain about how they spend it. I don't complain about paying it. Americans pay less tax, and complain more about it, than the people of any other fully-industrialized country.
Hay Kirbinster, you ought to move to Minnesota. Our dizzy governer made a pledge during his campaign that he will not increase any taxes and veto any attempts to force tax increases. Soooo, now he imposes "fees" these fees have been added to nearly everything, fees added to most license costs, raise tobacco tax "health impact fee" and on and on. Of course the cuts to most everything has just required local governments to increase local (property) taxes.
