[The Pack Knight]

Wouldn't it be something if withholding were abolished and we all paid our taxes in cash like you?

That's the one condition under which I'd be willing to grudgingly support a flat income tax.

It'll probably never happen, of course. I know a lot of otherwise smart people who are terrified of having to save their own money to pay their taxes on April 15. They actually claim fewer exemptions in order to ensure that even more is withheld, just to make sure they get a refund. It absolutely blows my mind that any reasonable person would do this, but no amount of logic can convince them that they'd be better off in control of their own money.

I'm sure everyone else here knows people like that.

[HundredDollars]

I am one of those people and believe me, I understand I am giving the government a interest free loan. Frankly, I just don't want the hassle of calculating my tax liability in advance, insuring I'm not going to get hit with penalties, and setting aside money to pay the bill due in April. The small amount of interest it costs me is a bargain to relieve the burdens of trying to save it.

Similarly, I used to always pay my credit cards as late as possible to take advantage of the use of other peoples money. Now I pay them well in advance of the due date because occassionally my payment would clear after the due date and the penalties would more than any miniscule interest I had earned on "their" money. With the advent of free automated bill payment I've now started to push my payments back towards the due date as I gain faith in the payments being made on time, every time and not being liable if there is a hiccup in the transfer.

All of that said, it is good of you to take time to educate others of the financial facts related to these early payments. Each person needs to make this decision for themselves because there are other factors besides money. Peace of mind is worth more to me than money and personally I'm not organized enough to make sure I don't get hit with penalties. For me, getting organized is like turning on the thumbscrews. I haven't truely balanced my checkbook or credit card bills in years. I