Remember Tax Day on Election Day
Another tax filing deadline has come and gone and it has me painfully aware of how much of my money is given to the government in the form of taxes. With programs like TuboTax it becomes so easy to focus on the little box at the top which keeps a running total of your refund that you forget you actually paid the government a significant chunk of change. Ask five people you know how much they paid in taxes this year and I bet they don’t know the figure but I’m sure they could recite the amount of their refund check to the nearest dollar.
Why do I bring this up? Because 2008 is an election year and I think it is important to remember that April 15th feeling on November 4th. In fact, I’ve heard of two ideas I believe would have a large impact on our government. First, move tax day to October 15 or there abouts. Second, discontinue the practice of employers withholding taxes from employees paychecks thereby forcing everyone to have to write a big check on tax day. That would make you think twice before you pull the lever for a candidate. More importantly politicians would be more likely to become accountable for their spending. This of course is a pipe dream as the politicians who make the laws would obviously not be on board with this.
Meanwhile candidates are telling us we don’t deserve tax cuts, that we are not taxed enough, especially “the rich”. I came across a blog post on current candidates plans to raise taxes and it includes a little parable titled “Barstool Economics” that I found funny and poignant. (If you have some time and really want a laugh, check out Leo’s comments following the parable.)
So to recap, please remember April 15th on November 4th.
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One Response to “Remember Tax Day on Election Day”
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Hey Justin,
Thanks for the link - glad you enjoyed the Barstool Economics article.
Leo’s comments are definitely a little wild - much more than I expected. I tried to argue my points, but something tells me I just didn’t quite get through - heh.
- Bill