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My Son Did His Taxes for the First Time. Rage Ensued.
Reason ^ | March 3, 2023 | J.D. Tuccille

Posted on 03/04/2023 7:00:49 AM PST by Twotone

Edited on 03/04/2023 1:23:50 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

Nothing focuses the mind quite so intently on the sheer stupidity of government as doing your taxes. What is taken from us is excessive, the intrusiveness is maddening, and the rules are byzantine, which is the distilled essence of most of our interactions with the state. So, it was with a certain degree of anticipation that I told my son that, after working hard at the supermarket in addition to his homeschooling and martial arts, he would have to file his first tax return. Much fun ensued.


(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: reason; taxation; taxes
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To: Keyhopper
Yes.

Unless they carve out a special exemption in this case. Which they probably will not.

Forgiven debt needs to be paid on.

41 posted on 03/04/2023 8:12:46 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: LibertyOh

delighted to get a $2500 return. Then he figured his 2022 taxes and learned he was getting only $5 back. He was quite upset.


A lot of peoples thoughts are based on the size of the refund. Some even think they pay no taxes if they get a refund.


42 posted on 03/04/2023 8:14:33 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: alternatives?

43 posted on 03/04/2023 8:18:29 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

How much is hiring 87,000 new Its agents going to cost? Increasing the size and scope of government?


44 posted on 03/04/2023 8:24:40 AM PST by dvan (Send Them Home!Napolatono)
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To: vaskypilot

And a refund check can easily satisfy, even though the refund amount is less than they owed you.


45 posted on 03/04/2023 8:25:13 AM PST by aspasia
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To: PeterPrinciple

The GOP is pushing the FAIR TAX. Right now it doesn’t stand a chance with the DIM marxists. It will also need to have some points cleared up or it will not be FAIR.


46 posted on 03/04/2023 8:30:52 AM PST by dvan (Send Them Home!Napolatono)
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To: Twotone

There was a time when the only taxes you paid were on goods that you had purchased, and the property that you owned.

The government would collect the tax from merchants, and that would be passed on to the consumer.

Personal income tax was a temporary measure introduced to pay for the great war (world war I) Sadly, it brought in so much revenue that the politicians decided to maintain it in perpetuity.

A simple solution... No more personal income tax. The only people who actually pay it are the working poor and middle classes. Rich people always find a way to dodge personal income tax. Increases taxes on properties, add tax to goods and services and show the % that government is taking from you every time that you buy gas, or groceries.


47 posted on 03/04/2023 8:35:54 AM PST by jerod (Nazi's were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: Night Hides Not

It’s going to be a real hoot watching to see if the Feddies will be able to find 87,000 Snowflakes and Zeros who will be willing to “work” out of the home.


48 posted on 03/04/2023 8:36:38 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer ("I may be a white boy but I'm not stupid". - FJB at Black "History" event. Tell 'em Jo Jo!)
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To: BradyLS

“I still do my taxes myself on paper forms. “

Well so did I. I use the online pdf fill-in able forms. Do the math myself. Printout and US mail in. Sent with a meter strip postage paid. You get a receipt when you mail with nothing more than a zipcode of the destination.

Did that in January 2022. Never heard back or could see if they got it, processed it, etc.

What the hell do we do when the powers at be, just do nothing.

I heard once that unless you pay the $6+ for receipt required, the IRS will throw out your mail return.


49 posted on 03/04/2023 8:37:11 AM PST by George from New England
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To: dvan

The GOP is pushing the FAIR TAX.


We already have a fair tax on the book. It is called the Alternative Minium Tax.

It was installed to counter all the special things. Already part of your tax calculations.


50 posted on 03/04/2023 8:38:38 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: PeterPrinciple
Some even think they pay no taxes if they get a refund.

Working in corporate PR I run into his quite often. A new hire claims Exempt on their W4 so as a matter of curtesy I reach to them to explain that claiming Exempt means no federal tax will withheld but their federal taxable income will be reported on their W2.

I think this happens because the instructions say “You may claim exemption from withholding for if you meet both of the following: conditions: you had no federal income tax liability in 2022 and you expect to have no federal income tax liability in 2023”

They think this means if they owed no additional federal tax when they filed or got a refund, this means they didn't have any liability, so I explain what it really means. Of course, if they want to claim Exempt, that’s up to them. But then in April of the following year I get a call asking why they ended up owing so much or got a lock in letter.

51 posted on 03/04/2023 8:38:39 AM PST by MD Expat in PA (No. I am not a doctor nor have I ever played one on TV. The MD in my screen name stands for Maryland)
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To: Twotone

I used to assist people with developmental disabilities find regular employment. This one young man was the epitome of ‘the first time you find out’ just how much they steal.

Bob had only been receiving a small amount of money doing piece work. He was a very capable person, no one had ever stopped to ask him what he really wanted to do. Turned out he was a natural landscaper / gardner, who already knew how to safely operate most machines. I developed a full-time position on a crew. He brought me his first paycheck and pay stub, wanting to know what all the columns of numbers meant. I explained each one, Federal, State, Medicare, etc. When I finished, I will never, ever forget his next words: “But that’s my money!”.
.


52 posted on 03/04/2023 8:43:33 AM PST by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try)
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To: Twotone
Many years ago, when I was a CPA, I did a stint as a tax specialist.

And naturally the tax code has gotten worse by an order of magnitude over the years.

Back then, my advice to people learning the tax code was "take it slowly and let it sink in gradually. After a while, it will begin to make sense."

That was advice to others who were learning the code as professionals. But even to regular filers, the same applies. Just take things very, very slowly and try not to get too wound up. And just follow the instructions.

My advice to individuals who had to file was, "Never get fancy with your taxes. Don't try to enter into transactions where a big part of the attraction is tax avoidance." If you do, you become a target.

53 posted on 03/04/2023 8:45:12 AM PST by RoosterRedux
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To: Keyhopper

REALLY good question


54 posted on 03/04/2023 8:49:23 AM PST by ridesthemiles
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To: drSteve78

THE BASIC RULE is:

KEEP YOUR PAPERWORK a MINIMUM of 7 years.

IF you INSIST on paying items electronically-—PRINT out the paperwork for deductible items.

I Preach this over & over again——and still people think I am foolish for writing actual checks-—and keeping all credit card receipts-—and for keeping other records.


55 posted on 03/04/2023 8:54:28 AM PST by ridesthemiles
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To: Spok

Worked with a company that had individual quarterly checks made out and had employees down to sign them.


56 posted on 03/04/2023 9:12:32 AM PST by Chickensoup (Genocide is here. Leftist extremists are spearhheading the Genocide against conservatives. )
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To: PeterPrinciple

Oh, shit,” he said.


He just discovered he was aslave.


57 posted on 03/04/2023 9:15:56 AM PST by Chickensoup (Genocide is here. Leftist extremists are spearhheading the Genocide against conservatives. )
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To: Twotone

I’m working on estimating for 2023. On some websites, it says 80-90% of filers take the standard deduction. We should raise the rates and standard deduction in a revenue neutral way until just about everyone is on it. Then 99% of the tax code will be irrelevant. It won’t be a flat tax but vastly simplified for almost everyone.


58 posted on 03/04/2023 9:21:23 AM PST by Dilbert56
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To: jocon307

I live a relatively simple life and hire a professional tax firm anyway since their fees are reasonable and they do a good job.

My real education on taxes came when I visited a major insurance company a couple of decades ago (when they kept paper files on everything).

They dedicated an entire floor (probably the size of several gyms) to the “tax department”.

File cabinets lined all the exterior walls for as far as the eye could see, with hundreds of cubicles of their tax staff filling up the interior.

Everyone who paid them for an insurance policy was helping to cover those costs—a true hidden tax.


59 posted on 03/04/2023 9:29:37 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: Spok

I was thinking about that statement of Rush’s just the other day, he said it a few times over the years.


60 posted on 03/04/2023 9:31:56 AM PST by MomwithHope (Forever grateful to all our patriots, past, present and future.)
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