The Tax Man Cometh

Most income tax returns are electronically filed these days.

But in the days when they were sent by snail mail, I always wondered:

Why shouldn't the taxpayers at least get to mail their income tax returns postage-free?

This is the day you count your blessings.

And then send them off to Washington.

After you've sent in your income tax return, you'd think the least those IRS folks could do is send you a Thank You note.

Ingrates.

We did a Radio Promotion at a Post Office one year on Tax Day. People who were getting a Tax Return got a PayDay Candy Bar, Those who had to pay in got a Zero Candy Bar. It was kind of a fun Promotion on such a dreary day for some citizens.

I just don't know anymore I have a feeling my taxes are figured wrong.. oh well at least I didn't get soaked this year by a theif of a business owner.

I will state that something is just not right with the system when 1 lives almost $5,000 below poverty the level already but has to make $13,000 or below for at least 1 tax break when they have 0 dependents.

I'm not sure what the answer is, I have heard good & bad about the Flat Tax & I am not sold on this whole 30%/Buffet Rule idea either.. somehow they are both going to cost me some way or another.

I'm sure you've noticed the income tax-related ads on the left side of this page.

Methinks we should push for a Stand Your Ground law against income taxes.

Hazel - Do you have Income Taxes/a Tax Due Day in Wales?  

The tax man cometh,
I didn’t pay.

The tax man cometh,
I chased him away.

The tax man cometh,
Will be in prison for many a day.

Just got an e-mail telling me that if I drop by one of my favorite places on tax day they will give me free coffee and a sweet treat.

Yes, Rings~ we certainly do have a tax due day. O yes, we do. It is increasingly emerging that the super rich can afford to pay super accountants to devise tax avoidance plans for them. On top of that, they fiddle expense accounts, funded by the tax payer I'm talking about politicians and high ranking civil servants etc. etc. No wonder Joe Public is disgruntled. Speaking of which - did you ever hear of anybody being gruntled? Strange word.

I have a hunch that today will engender many a taxing conversations...

just a casual thought...the government has no pockets, therefore,everything collected must be spent.....and it gets spent by us,on us, though we don't have a lot to say on how.....

if you want to,you can look on the back of those checks that pay the "vig" on the National debt....whomever is the 'endorser' on those interest checks is also who picks the next Chief Spending Officers.....  'jus sayin...

RY~ The government has no pockets? Are you not aware of the jacket tailor's trick of a poachers pocket?

yes,Hazel, and if the alagory (I think it might qualify)holds true, the poacher feeds his family when he can't afford to buy them food,...I was saying that taxes pay the guy that fixes the roads,(we all use the roads) and then he can pay taxes....

No RY~ I was sayin' every day there is a news story about some high-up being accused of financial misbehaviour. It puts me in mind of the priest, who would take the offerings bowl into the vestry and say to God - OK, God, I'm going to throw this money up towards heaven. You grab whet you need and whatever falls to the floor is mine.

what you need ... fingernail cutting time, methinks.

Right you are Hazel, and when you consider that there are gazillions of government workers, and some look both ways over their shoulder before they put that govt. issued pencil in their pocket....well, one bad apple,etc. etc.   Reminds me of the story of the employee leaving the compound pushing a wheelbarrow full of sawdust. Every night the security gaurd would sift through the sawdust,looking for something the employee must be smuggling...afterall, what could he want with all that sawdust that usaually gets thrown out? After many,many days of this, the guard finally gave in and just confronted the employee  "what ARE you stealing?"....sheepishly, the employee,now caught had to tell...."Wheelbarrows....."

Thanks, RY~ Something to laugh about. Tax and all that stuff is so depressing.

RY.....................your 5:25.............I am baffled, help explain, also what is vig??????? I know when you explain I will look like a complete dumbledorf......................
 
I have a workshop in town, so I have a luxurious whole extra hour before I need to leave.............................
 
LOT.....................probably for the same reason WE have to pay interest on money we owe, BUT they don't have to when they owe us money.........................
 
I hope they have donuts........................mmmmmmmmmmmm.........................loverly day all...........................
 
 

bebe~"vig" is the percentage the 'house',or 'bookie' takes to finance the transactions....  On Americas debt, there is an interest charge to to pay for the cost of the loan. When we,as tax payers, print(in theory)the check to cover that interest payment,some one endorses that check. That would be a mighty influential person....   'jus sayin,s'all

It cause me to think of the phrase "Taxation without representation"...and I just don't feel like I'm being represented. Am I alone here?

Umm

Until we
have a group of folks in DC who have the guts and gumption to restructure the way
taxes are collected and spent, we will continue on this downward spiral. Government
waste and corruption is nothing new, but what we have recently seen and heard of
(just the tip of the ice berg) seems to rival the Gilded Age scandals.

Miss Blue- agreed.

I can't figure our tax code out, I'm just not devious enough by nature.  But it make no sense to me that I could be a responsible adult with 3 jobs and still barely making it by, but no kids the schools, I've never asked the state for any kind of assistance, I was married and putting my husband through school, we own a house and were getting a deduction for the interest, I give to my church which has a massive welfare program that takes a huge burden off of our state welface, I have lots of with holdings taken out of my meager paychecks...and yet I had to pay out in taxes this year.  *sigh* I can't win. Usually tax day = mom's birthday.  She said this is the first year of her married life that she can remember NOT rushing to the accountant's to sign taxes at the last minute...she seemed to enjoy herself immensely.

Nachista

You and I
must keep a household budget....why not the government?

And where
have these folks been?

http://www.gao.gov/about/index.html

Nachista

You and I
must keep a household budget....why not the government?

And where
have these folks been?

http://www.gao.gov/about/index.html

    pardon my "Bert"

I offer a
quick fix for the economic burden on the American people, until the tax
structure is overhauled.

A moratorium
on Federal fuel taxes...

"The United
States federal excise tax on gasoline, as of February 2011, is 18.4¢/gal and
24.4¢/gal for diesel fuel. In January 2011, motor gasoline taxes averaged
48.1¢/gal and diesel fuel taxes averaged 53.1¢/gal,[1] which accounted for 14%
of the price of gasoline and 15% of the price of diesel.[2]"

On top of
that add another .32 to .645 per gallon for fuel taxes depending on the State.

I employed 2
full time people just to track and collect and submit taxes to the Feds and States
when I owned a business.

Federal and
State withholdings, litter taxes, fuel taxes ABC taxes are just a few taxes
that I collected for the Feds and State and submitted monthly with no remuneration
for my expenses. I operated trucks, so we had to track mileage across state
lines and pay those states extra fuel taxes for that privilege. I won't even
address the issues of licensing fees (TAXES) and taxes on business personal;
properties, real estate, etc.

As a cost
cutting measure, I propose a total restructure of the IRS with emphasis on
austerity. All those laid off employees from the IRS can get jobs as prison
guards ...

Oh, Instead of
all of those bailouts, we should have given 6 to 9 months of no income taxes to
tax paying Americans ( most don't you know....refunds and "earned" tax credits )
to catch up on back mortgage payments, energy saving improvements( don't make
me spend the money first and then play a shell game for me to recoup) etc.

I just don't
have any more skin to put into the game.

When anyone offers you a free lunch, cover all orofices 'cause there ai'nt no such thing. Seriously, I understand and share all your frustration re: the tax code in this country. As a longtime retired person, I pay more income tax annually than I made annually for half my working life but, at the bottom line, the blessings I've experienced in living in the land and home of the Braves makes me believe its not been a bad deal.

Remember the new old saying I just came up with..."A good attitude is worth faking".

 
 
 
that's part of the problem george...too many free lunchs and rides....for some. i have always paid for mine.
 
yes, we still live in the greatest country on this planet.

Does anyone know anyone who is getting a free ride?  Does that really happen?  We all talk about welfare cheaters, but from what I understand, welfare is not such a great deal and there is not a lot of money in it. I don't have any of the answers as to what plagues this great country of ours.  But my gut tells me that the money is tied up in the wrong places.  Why  are so many of the best and brightest yearning to become investment bankers? Because they can make a lot of money. Doing what?  Making money.  That makes no sense to me. I don't mind paying taxes--I want to live in a country where there are decent schools, roads, police, transportation. If more of us were working, creating jobs, revenue, there would be more money in the system to go around.  Too much money is tied up by too few people.  And our complicated tax code is a joke.    

There will to be those who have more than others.

There will be the successful and the not so successful.

As long as people make poor choices, like having children they can't afford, spending money they don't have etc they will be stuck where they are. I have worked very hard for what I have and am sick of success and wealth being looked on as disease. Anyone who thinks they don't pay enough taxes is free to send that extra check in to the IRS....go ahead and set an example.

Back to the books. (Yes I used "they" 5 times)

Where is park4?

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. -
Engrved on Statue of Liberty""The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good." - Gordon Gekko, Wall StreetGod Bless the United States of America

I just saw someone who may be Park4 passing out crying towels in front of the post office....and when that post office closes and it costs $4.95 to send a letter...or pay taxes...and you have to visit a 'specialist' to get your passport...stop me,from missing my post person,...I do also like the brown shorted people,and the purple socks people....but if the address isn't quite right, it gets lost, and my mailperson even knows my dog's name, and so his birfday biscut came....

Oh Marjorie~ that explains it....some folks thought it meant Every Juan Welcome               (Joke)

There's a lot of wisdom in there, Miss Blue! I'm with you!

"Give
me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. "

They left (my
paternal grandparents included) to escape crushing, unaccountable governments
and TAXES....and worked their asses off and made a life for themselves and their
children.

I think there is something morally wrong when here we are, the (arguably) richest country in the world, squabblin' about who gets the biggest piece of pie, when in a goodly percentage of the same world, there is no pie...know what I mean?

Ugh!

I'm not
going to take the pie out of my child's mouth to give to another one...sorry, but
that is the way it is and what it boils down to. I'm concentrating my efforts
here on the home front.

There are
the hungry and the hurting right here in my community, many of them victims of
recent government folly.

Billions in
money, food and other resources have been sent overseas to help save the world,
only to be squandered and misappropriated at best and used to enrich our
enemies at the worst.

We have used
our resources and good fortune to better ourselves and help others. We have made,
up until now, most of the medical and scientific advances of the last century
and we have gladly shared those rewards. We have sent food and medicine to the
hungry, and have made (sometimes ill advised) attempts to educate the word in
the concepts of self-determination etc. Many still choose to the rule of warlords
and tribal headmen. How much of that wealth that China is accumulating is
making it down to the dirt farmer and factory worker? Wake up.

 I believe in charity and will do what I can
for my fellow humans, but cultures that encourage families of 10 or more and "enslave"
women and children.....agh...don't get me going.

...whilr we spend $2 Billion <> per week for more than ten years on wars in countries that don't want us there nor buy in to what we're 'selling not to even mention the lives lost. .

Yes, you can
go to sleep only, to fear, that the IRS will impound your checking account and
maybe your home, because you are owe back taxes and are  currently under or un employed, that that due
to fuel prices in large part, your food bill has increased 50% the past year,
so instead of low fat healthy protein and fresh fruits and veggies, you are
filling your family's stomachs with high calorie fatty foods, and you hope
those effing potholes in the road don't finish off the ole family clunker that
now costs $100 instead of $50 to fill( you can't afford a nice shinny green car) so you can try to find a job and get the
kids to a school that has just laid off 50 teachers because of $ cuts and your
child will not get the extra help with reading skills while an out of control
government throws our money around....this is all happening to my friends and
neighbors....sleep tight and pleasant dreams.

Is the Club Car open yet...?

George,
sadly the military is the only place many young people can find employment now
days. Unfortunately the lure of a little (very little) financial security and
the promise of some education (if they survive) keeps them signing up.

Price controls
on fuel NOW and an emergency mandate (in the name of national security) that X amount
of supply stay right here in this country. 
The green fuel movement doesn't emphasize the point that electricity
that is generated by wind and solar is going to drive electricity costs up even
higher and that millions of acres of farm land will need to be taken out of
production for these massive energy farms increasing our dependence on foreign
food sources. Of course the EPA is doing its part in that too......

A mojito
sound good about now.

Fair Tax
Leo E. Linbeck, Jr.
Co-Founder
"We did not want to leave for our children and grandchildren a society that was shackled with that kind of dysfunctional system such that it put in jeopardy the whole fabric of the American society and our economy."
Too late.

J. Murry Bowden
Director
"Unfortunately, the progressive income tax creates a class structure among taxpayers."
Too true and being exploited to the max by the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue… short may he reign.

Flat Tax
Daniel J. Mitchell, Ph.D.
"There will never be a tax that is good for the economy, but the flat tax moves the system much closer to where it should be-raising the revenues that government demands, but in the least destructive and least intrusive way possible."

President Obama:
"All we want is e'erbody paying their fair share."

Were that true, the tax base would include tens of millions of wage earning households currently paying very little or no net federal income or capital gains taxes at all.

We can wait for the inevitable collapse or elect some people who will make a beginning at dealing with both taxes and spending.
A or B… pick one.

Miss Blue, we may not agree on the how and why, but your 1:53 is dead on right. A friend of  mine has a kid in college. He's a smart kid, but is having trouble with his math class, so my friend is hiring a tutor. I asked, why do you have to hire a tutor to teach your kid for a class that you are paying for him to take and learn?  It's all crazy.  And George, don't get me started on the mid-East wars.  I think that is the  main reason we are in such financial trouble right now. The unfunded Iraq war, thank you Mr. Cheney.

       exactly........

        the "exactly" was for Stoney,LOL.

Richpeoplewantustopaytheirtaxes.com    go ahead, it is there...rich people are always squalling about how they make a million+,and have to give up 35%...how very unfortunate to try and live on $600,000+.....and they cry that the poor working man-literally poor- doesnt pay 35% of his $7.75 per hour wage, just his other taxes....think the millionaire would want to try and live on that for even a day?

food service folk know a secret <shhh> better tips come from food service workers than rich owners.....guess ya gotta know one to be one..(or sumtin' like that..)       It really exhausted my resources to pay my taxes this year...imagine what my gran babies will feel when it is their turn.....and yet, I have a better life than I have seen in lots of places,some just an hour from here....and at $420 bux or so to fill the RoadYacht fuel tank, I won't get to wander very much this year (it is not an economy vehicle)...

I knew it wasn't for me.  Stoney always has something interesting and intelligent to say. :-)    Some good friends of ours won't be paying any income taxes this year.  He makes less than $75,000 (a guess, probably less than $50,000) his wife is unemployed, he has a girl in college and one in high school.  Between his mortgage and deductions, he is getting his tax money back.  Is that fair?  Should we squeeze more from him?

the simple formulae apply, takes all us chilluns to make dis country

RY ~
Your link was not live but this is:

http://www.american.com/archive/2007/november-december-magazine-contents/guess-who-really-pays-the-taxes

I tried RY's link too and read a couple articles. This sentence is what caught my eye:                              Tempting as it is for the rich to take all the wealth of a country, it's
really not wise to leave the poor with no stake in the system, and every reason
to agitate for imposing a new system of their own. Think of social spending as
insurance against violent revolution-- and again, like any insurance, it's of
most benefit to those with the biggest boodle. If the safety nets are gone, there is nothing left to lose.  I remember the 60's.  And that was nothing...

Dignity cannot be purchased with money… earned by somebody else.

no, but food can

Stoney~people want to be proud,and come home with a decent paycheck, and do the right thing....we were all brought up that way.   Dunno where it got derailed, but the small amounts that actually come from our taxes that go to feed poor folk, are NUTTIN compared to the staggering amounts that are corporate welfare....we seem to have our tax money pay forfactories to locate overseas...bad plan....and it's been going on for far too long for this Pres to be the fall guy....but, that's the way it is, and the very keyboardwe use to communicate here, is not made in th good Ol' US of A....so? whata we gonna do? ya cain't git thar from here......and today is equal pay day...that means a woman has had to work untill today to make as much as a man made last year at the same job.....what can we do to make that right?

Here is an interesting fact I just aquired : the tax incentive a state,county,or city pays to a company for them to move in? They collect tax from their employees,and then do not have to send it in! How does that work?!?

I found
these quotes to be of interest:

"A
protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual
coerces a victim (usually a business) to pay money, supposedly for protection
services against violence or property damage........Paradoxically, in a parasitic
relationship, the parasite both damages the host and prefers that the host
remain healthy."

Entitlement
as a way of life does nothing for esteem or dignity.

What happened
to " the teach a man to fish "parable?

http://www.uakron.edu/centers/conflict/docs/whitepriv.pdf    ; I think I got this off the Eye months ago. It's not about taxes, but it's related to the discussion. 

My observation over a lifetime is that if my prosperity depends on denying someone, neither prospers. I have believed there is no finite supply of opportunity and that someone/anyone else's success does not dimimish the supply available to me...in fact the opposite is true.Just my opinion.

I defer to The Kinks as I play acoustic air guitar. The taxman's taken' all my dough
and left me in this stately home lazin' on a sunny afternoon. My CPA filed an extension for me as usual. My road life takes me forever to get my stuff together. Tis what it tis.

Tonite in the Club Car, the coin operated mirror will not accept any money or tokens,but will in fact reflect a smile for all who gaze in---regardless of your mood,or lack of smile.  Hey, it's all I can do.....

Roadie~ I will be deeply in your debt. TT~ I'll just be here strumming my 1974 D-28 Martin hoping the movement of my chording hand will be enough to keep the old Breitling Navitime wound. The tax man won't be the only one that cometh.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzLry3ABpV0     ;

Its 'Navitimer'!

RY--hooray!! FREE beauty to all!  You are a Prince among men.    There may not be enough elbow room for all who want to see their Smile again!

It must be a beautiful spring day here 'cos my legs are cramping, my tendons are singing and my hips are throbbing 'cos I am still fortunate enough to do those thing that I love....mow the lawn, smell it, rake, trim,pull weeds, sit for awhile with a mug of Backwoods Camfire Joe coffee and start over again while I still have enough light to see what I am doing.

I hope I will sleep well tonight.....but I promise you I won't be thinking 'bout taxes and all those other things I cannot directly influence. I'm so tired of sweating stuff like this.... It just makes me weary in my soul...... I would rather feel my body rejoice, if only for a while, the fruits of a little labor.

What a great spring day it still is.

Peace out

PL.....what good words to live by...........while we can't turn a blind eye to major issues we should, indeed, feel our bodies rejoice in the fruits of a little labor, as you say............and revel in the beauty of a creation that none of us can ever claim credit for!  Can you make the flowers bloom?  Can you make the trees bear fruit?  Can you green the grass?   You may delude yourself that you and Miracle Gro can do it, but..............really?  Really???   Give thanks and praise where it is due.  Do what you can, but trust in One better to really take care of things and distribute the riches of nature.

A man, called for an audit by the IRS asked his
accountant for advice on what to wear. "Wear your shabbiest clothing. Let
him think you are a pauper." Then he asked his lawyer the same question, but
got the opposite advice. "Do not let them intimidate you. Wear your most
elegant suit and tie."

Confused, the man went to his rabbi, told him of the conflicting advice, and
requested some resolution of the dilemma. "Let me tell you a story," replied
the rabbi. "A woman, about to be married, asked her mother what to wear on
her wedding night. 'Wear a heavy, long, flannel nightgown that goes right up
to your neck.' But when she asked her best friend, she got conflicting
advice. 'Wear your most sexy negligee, with a V neck right down to your
navel."

The man protested: "What does all this have to do with my problem with the
IRS?"

"No matter what you wear, you are going to get screwed!"

Nice timepiece Georgie Boy. When it's peach pickin time....

Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world.......................I am enjoying all of your posts, I loved my rflection in the free mirror, the mojitos were delicious, the check was in the mail Saturday.....................I had a diatribe, no point................................
 
MISS BLUE.....................you rock all over the place & I think you're brilliant!
 
IMARJORIE..................your 12:31.......................YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know too many which is why my parents' liberal, hippie political views have gone the way of dinosaurs for me.............................no diatribes, but if you really don't believe that too many people are riding the gravy train...........well, I can't convince you otherwise. But it is a huge part of why I have changed politically......................it's as real as a Skyline chili 5 way, but it goes down rough...........................
 
I raise my glass to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     bebe..many thanks!gald to see you after so long.

I applaud my friend MissBlue for her brilliant commentary today.  I wish I'd been here but you sure didn't need my help...I'll stand you to a whiskey or mojito or whatever floats your boat (that you bought and paid for through hard work)- you're marvelous, my lady.  Thank you for your wisdom and your very rational presentation.  You're a better chick than I would have been...the devil always makes me say bad things know what I mean?  It ain't MY fault, it's GEORGE BUSH's FAULT.....;)

One parting shot:  Roadyact, one of the problems we as a country face is that WE were not ALL brought UP to want to work and to think of work as dignified and honorable.  No WE weren't.  Some of us were, but some of us weren't and the latter group seems to be liking the OBAMABUCKS handout socialist society we're living in....you give more credit than credit is due to a large section of our society.  Gimme gimme, see, here's my hand...put something in it.  I deserve it just because I'm and American and I breathe....not.  Not not not.  But the scenario is right on.

roadyacHt  -- missed your "H"

PARK................freeloaders make my teeth ache..............................

   there you are, Park4     ; )

Miss Blue rules. Good call P & bebe.
Some must pay more. More must pay some. Everyone, particularly the poor, must be prepared to receive less.
We do not have classes. We have income brackets: low or none, middle and upper.
We are deep in a hole that is going to get worse, much worse.
So much worse that these will look like the good old days: "Remember when unemployment was way down around 8.4%?"
Both sides are wrong, dead wrong and quite a bit of what each of them has promised never to do, will happen.
I cracked the mirror.

don't worry Stoney~ I've got a govt grant to study the habits of dust motes, and there is enough fat in it to get the mirror remirrored, I'll just shift some 'petty cash' away from the awards dinners and inaugaration parties for the neww linen service guys...

Stoney - there is no way on earth you could crack that Mirror.

Brackets - watched a news show a few weeks ago. They were interviewing what was a Middle Class Family before the recession hit. This "Former" Middle Class Family had 10 cars. Heck, if that was Middle Class income BEFORE this Recession, well than I guess I was brought up with No Class.

I somehow feel that Real Tax Reform can't be attained until the News Propaganda Machines & the Fat Cat Lobbiests/Politicians are cleared out for good, or actually realize what it is like to live on a realistic budget for awhile.

Oh who am I kidding I stand by my statement from yesterday, just find the Nuke & hit all that have been mentioned inthe above paragraph please.. Thank You.

anyway, foods being served in the club car  (notice no one really got into a food mood today?)  Tonites special : Hobo Stew...

(ask for the gummint cheese topping...)

Miss Blue ~ When The Who sang We won't be fooled again they certainly weren't talking about My Generation.  You certainly put in a good day's work in the village.