10 Things You Absolutely Need To Know
As a “tax guy” I follow the Taxgirl blog at Forbes of Kelly Phillips. Because her posts are practical, not philosophical, they can profitably be read by Americans of any political persuasion.
A recent post of Kelly’s was titled “10 Things You Absolutely Need To Know About Taxes.” Reading them got me thinking that there are 10 other things you absolutely need to know about taxes that are far more important.
Here are the opening sentences to each of the 10 things Kelly explained:
- You may not have to file a federal income tax return.
- Even if you don’t need to file a federal income tax return, you may still want to take advantage of tax breaks and credits. one’s income subject to tax. Tax credits and deductions are not subsidies that have to be “paid for.” Tax credits and deductions allow Americans to keep more of their money in their pockets and out of the hands of Uncle Sam.
7. Refundable tax credits are a form of welfare. A regular tax credit may reduce the amount of tax owed down to zero. However, if there is no taxable income to begin with—due to tax deductions, exemptions, or otherwise—then no credit can be taken. Not so with refundable tax credits. They allow some Americans to receive a tax refund of money that they never paid in. This makes refundable tax credits no different from other welfare programs like food stamps, WIC, section 8 housing vouchers, Medicaid, TANF, and SSI.
8. Revenue-neutral reform of the income tax is a waste of time. It is nothing more than the proverbial rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic. Revenue-neutral tax reform is based on the idea that the government has a claim to a certain percentage of every American’s income. It implies that the tax code contains too many credits and deductions. It implies that government revenue should not be decreased. The only legitimate tax reform is that which follows the Rockwell rule: Does it reduce or eliminate an existing tax?
9. Republicans want to take your money just as much as Democrats do. Their tax-reform plans are always revenue neutral. They want to eliminate tax credits and deductions in the name of “simplicity.” They support income-transfer schemes like the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit. They could have made the so-called Bush tax cuts permanent before Obama got into office. They opposed renewing Obama’s cut in the employee share of the Social Security payroll tax. Their tax-cutting icon Ronald Reagan was also a tax-raiser. They support a progressive tax system in the name of “fairness.” They believe the government is entitled to a portion of every American’s income.
10. Americans should view paying their taxes like they view an armed robber telling them to hand over their money. The government doesn’t “need” the tax money to perform its constitutional functions. Taxes are not the price we pay for civilization. Taxes are the price we pay for the welfare/warfare/national security state. Americans should pay their taxes, not out of any patriotic duty or because of the Sixteenth Amendment, but so their property doesn’t get seized by the IRS, the IRS doesn’t garnish their wages, they don’t go to jail, and they don’t get killed by an IRS agent for resisting arrest.
These are the 10 other things you absolutely need to know about taxes. And they never change from year to year.
The post 10 Things You Absolutely Need To Know appeared first on LewRockwell.
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