Whew! Exhausted! Just got back from protesting outside our local IRS branch. Surprisingly, we were alone. And when did IRS employees start wearing those all brown uniforms? Seems somewhat fascist. There were certainly an overabundance of boxes and mailing supplies. . . .
Oh, well.
Seriously, though, we don't actually mind paying taxes. Unlike (it seems) the majority of the population, we generally appreciate those things that the government provides: roads, fire protection, education, national defense. We really don't object to paying our share.
The only thing that annoys us is when we owe money--as we did to the state this year. We don't understand why, when the government takes money out of our paycheck every month, they can't just take, y'know, the RIGHT amount? It's not as if we're hiding income somewhere, so it comes as a more than rude shock to find we owe an extra thousand dollars or so. We feel that, if the state neglected to collect the proper amount of money, then it's their loss.
You may say, "Well, Solipsist, that's the way it goes. And if the government always took the right amount of money, then you wouldn't get that nice federal refund." True enough, but, again, we would have had a couple of hundred more dollars a month throughout 2009. We would forego the refund in exchange for not having to worry about owing any additional money and getting a few extra bucks in our pocket throughout the year.
You wouldn't think this would be that complicated, would you?
Revealing, Solipsist. You are not a math person! (:oD
ReplyDeleteWell, we're not, strictly speaking. Although, frankly, we don't see this as a MATH problem so much as an administrative one.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean - it's not so bad paying taxes but it's annoying to actually owe money.
ReplyDeleteA math person keeps track in his/her head all year long where he stands, along the way, of what he will owe the IRS at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteMath runs through the head regarding just about everything. The end grocery bill is tallied by eyeing the goods in the grocery cart before one even nears the check-out stand, for example.
Years ago, I remember an impromptu lunch of 23 accountants. Within 1 minute of receiving the lunch check the bill was split amongst us, including tip.
Taxes have their place and I agree I like the services they provide. I don't think most people actually understand the concepts involved. It's absurd when people use income tax as a kind of savings account. The problem with state taxes this year is:
ReplyDelete1) Caleefornia is in mucho trouble.
2) State income taxes were quietly raised towards the end of 2009 because(see reason #1 above).
You also brought up an interesting point. With all the complaining about taxes, WHY aren't people standing in front of IRS offices and protesting on April 15th?
We're not sure if people were protesting in front of IRS offices, but there were various Tea Party protests around the country.
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