

Why Do People Try So Hard to Avoid Paying Taxes? - billhendricksjr
https://common-form.com/blog/people-try-hard-avoid-paying-taxes/

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Beached
I don't think it's that people HATE paying taxes, its that a large portion of
their lively hood will be taken if they do not maximize their deductions.

As an employer, about 10% of my salary is paid to Fed, State, and local taxes.
As a W-2 Employee of my company, about 25% of my income is taken out of my
paycheck if I claim to deductions. This means the government is getting 35% of
my salary for doing, what I consider, very little. This is money I could use
to boost salary, pay for additional or better benefits, or hire additional
employee's.

My father-in law would have to pay about 70% of his income if you include
Federal, State, and city taxes with no deductions. Throw in Tithe for the
church and you can imagine why one would do all they can to put money away
into pre-tax accounts and claim everything you can.

I don't hate taxes, they are necessary, but I do not agree with the way they
are spent in most instances. The USA should be a union of states collectively
working together, but the country is increasingly moving towards a single
state, with a one size fits all policy. As it stands now, each state is
incredibly different and policies made for California are in no way fit for
Alaska or New York. Federal taxes should be significantly lower then they are
now and lower then state taxes, and should be spend on defense, and inter
state mediation. State taxes should get a small boost and provide services to
its residents inside the state only. Reduce the scope of where tax dollars are
spent and what they are spent on, and efficiency will go up, citizens will
have more money in their pockets to fuel the consuming engine of America, and
huge government programs that sweep up everyone's communications in the
country will be harder to fund. Not to mention people will get to vote with
their bodies(By moving to a new state), which is far more effective then
voting for the president.

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Scotty2
I view taxes like stamps, don't like to pay for them. Perhaps I am taking it
for granted, but seems like they take a large chunk. I want to get as much
back as possible, especially if I am not ever able to take advantage of any
special programs and gov't assistance, and may never see my social security.
In my mind, I am paying for other people is my simplified answer.

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everyone
A thought just struck me. The phrase 'death and taxes' must have been coined
by a wealthy or upper class individual (Daniel Defoe it turns out)

If your well-off these will be the only hardships you will certainly face.
Defoes less well-off contemporaries would probably rate the inevitable
struggles to attain adequate food, clothes and shelter as more relevant
certainties.

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morkfromork
Depending on the tax it can be complicated and time consuming. If you do not
put in the effort then you might overpay or pay more than your fellow tax
payer. You face stiff penalties if you make a mistake in the complicated
forms. Give the government everything and the national debt still goes up.

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billhendricksjr
I know this is a bit OT, but the startup world has a fairly strong libertarian
ethos, so I'm particularity interested in getting your feedback. Why do most
Americans hate paying their taxes and go to such extreme measures to minimize
the amount of tax they pay?

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Quequau
The theory I've created since being an expat is:

The United States government spends an extraordinary amount of money on stuff
that's not really tangible, everything from gargantuan military to corporate
level subsidies and interest payments on debt. The ways taxes are now
collected have shuffled the obvious burden to individuals earning more than
about $640K per year in real wages. The United States has, for decades,
ignored & postponed maintenance, repair, and upgrades to infrastructure like
Water, Sewer, Roads, Bridges, Rail, Power, and Communication and public
facilities like schools, parks, and libraries. The United States _is not_
number one. Not in any of the important metrics about societies that actually
matter to regular people.

So, thinking about the average Joe who's paying way more than his parents did
in taxes and what does he get for it in return? Not a lot that is visible or
even desirable (after all, he's not yet retired and receiving any benefits
from Social Security or Medicare) and meanwhile all those things that are
desirable and/or visible are in a state of disarray, disrepair, or disrepute.
Even the phrase "Good enough enough for government work" has been twisted into
its opposite at this point.

Overlay all that on to how obviously disconnected the American political
system is from regular Americans and the end result is an alienation which
manifested itself in folks not liking to pay taxes.

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billhendricksjr
Feeling disconnected from how one's taxes are spent is an excellent point.

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JoeAltmaier
I don't think much about it. Lots of people are like me. They pay somebody to
do their taxes, and never think about it again. Is that 'trying so hard'?
Doesn't seem like it.

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billhendricksjr
I'm sure there are lots of people like you, but I don't think you're the
majority. And although you are not trying hard, presumably your accountant is
on your behalf and you're paying him/her good $ to do so.

