RSS 2.0 FeedTax Refunds Are For Suckers
by Doug MataconisSince it’s tax season, a thought has entered my head that I’ve never gotten a satisfying answer to.
Why does everyone seem to think its great to get a tax refund every April ?
Think about it for a second. When you get a tax refund it bascially means that you’ve overpaid your taxes for the previous year. Yea, you get your money back but Uncle Sam doesn’t pay interest does he ? Of course not.
Wouldn’t it be better if you had that money back in July rather than getting it ten months later ? One would think most people would figure that out, but somehow everyone has bought into the IRS’s refund scam.
Getting a tax refund basically means you’ve given an interest free loan to the government. Who wants to do that ?
So remember. If you’re paying taxes this April, you’re doing good (and do it at the last minute, there’s no reasons for the government to get your money any earlier than it needs to). If you’re paying, you’ve just lost a sucker’s bet. Adjust your withholding and keep your money in your own pocket.
The answer is obvious to all of us who really do realize that taxation DOES = theft, but not at all to most Americans. Don’t forget that withholding (another “temporary” measure turned permanent) means that most Americans just do not even SEE a chunk of the money THEY EARNED. What they don’t see, every two weeks, isn’t “real” to them.
Comment by Tom Gellhaus — April 14, 2007 @ 7:31 amWhenever I explain to people that I set things up so I PAY a small amount in mid-April, and WHY I do it (and I make
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Comment by Tom Gellhaus — April 14, 2007 @ 7:34 amless than sign screws these comments up. sorry…is there a preview button?
I make less than $30 thousand a year. People usually say “What, you don’t want a refund ?” but they usually get it once I explain how i get my own money during the previous year, to use as I want, rather than wait for the once-a-year “gift” of my own money being returned to me from the government.
Comment by Tom Gellhaus — April 14, 2007 @ 7:38 ammmmmmmm, we really need to put in a preview function. I think I’ll go find a plugin and do that.
Comment by Adam Selene — April 14, 2007 @ 11:01 amAt one time years ago, you could figure out you tax from a salary table, then the FEDs introduced a calculation to determine what you would owe. I tried three times to get it so that is would be right on, but I still owed or got a refund.
Comment by VRB — April 14, 2007 @ 1:29 pmOur tax system is really “neat”.
Comment by Adam Selene — April 14, 2007 @ 1:32 pmI admit, I usually go for the refund. Yes, I’d love to have the money during the year, or save it up for a gift to myself later in the year (with interest thanks to savings accounts or investments), however, I’ve had a few rocky years, with employment and living considtions changing. Which makes those final adjustments harder… and I do not make enough that I can spare a few extra hundred in case the calculations go wrong at some point during the year and I owe more in taxes.
So, I usually claim 0, and then do my taxes come Feb like everyone else.
Comment by Ted — April 14, 2007 @ 6:32 pmDon’t forget, the government isn’t about to let you keep your money until the end of the year. You are penalized for not withholding enough throughout the year. You can end up having to make quarterly tax payments, pay penalties, all sorts of neath things.
Comment by Adam Selene — April 15, 2007 @ 9:52 pm