The Tax Man Cometh…
At 4:44 this afternoon, I realized that I hadn’t yet gone out to the local post office to mail our tax returns. Fortunately, I live close by and was able to deposit them by 4:48 — with just 12 minutes to spare. I normally don’t wait until the last possible minute to file, but I also normally don’t have to pay taxes. Zero. Zip. Zilch.
Despite my less-than-usual employment, this year was an exception — and an unfair one at that.
TurboTax, like other packages, I’m sure, provides me with a multi-year comparison, which most years I ignore. This year, however, the numbers are interesting.
My increased self-employment business income aside, our standard wages earned for the year fell by more than 26%, and our interest and dividend income was down by 27%. Our deductions were down in parallel, with prepaid taxes down 27%, interest reduced by 30% (thanks to a refinance late in the previous year), and charitable contributions for the year fell by 35%. Hey, if I’m earning less, I’m holding on to as much as I can! Lastly, our tax credits increased by 66%.
Sounds rosy, right?
Wrong. Our income tax rose by more than 200%, thanks primarily due to what I consider to be unfair taxation: income from state unemployment benefits, and the gouging self-employment tax. The Treasury department’s policy sucks; increase the tax liabilities of those individuals who are either unemployed or working for themselves.
I seriously should think about becoming a corporation. That way I could avoid paying taxes altogether…
You normally pay Zero Zip Zilch, and now you’re complaining about paying 200% of that?
As a math geek whose favourite number is zero, I am giggling my fool head off at Sean’s comment…
The statement that I “normally don’t have to pay taxes” was an apparently inept way of stating that I normally do not have to pay additional monies along with the filing of my return. It was not a statement intended to indicate that I had zero tax liability, rather that my normal withholdings would cover what little tax liability I had and would warrant a refund of the remainder.
It still seems unfair with income reduced by approximately 27% and tax credits increased by 66% that tax liability would double — which, Sean, was the point of the article in the first place…
Yeah, I figured that. But if your best friend won’t pick on you small, unintentional errors, what are they good for?
“But if your best friend won’t pick on your small, unintentional errors…”
No idea.
I said unintentional errors.
You really think I would nit pick you without giving you a chance to return the favor?
Not that’s a good friend!
(Grrr. Ðámn.)