As difficult as it is to believe, some hard-working Americans actually file their income tax returns weeks ahead of the dreaded April 15 deadline.
They do this because they have somehow managed to finagle the system in such a way that they get refund checks from the federal government, and they use them to vacation at Dollywood or to buy a new 62-inch high-definition TV for the living room.
If you are asking yourself, “What’s a refund check?” you clearly fall into the group of Americans who wait until just before the deadline to file their returns.
Millions of us wait until the last minute. If you don’t believe me, just ask any accountant, if you can actually find one who has time to talk to you because they are all working 20 hours a day trying to finish the returns for all of us who waited until the last minute.
For many years, I fell into the get-a-refund group. But a few years ago, I started doing a good bit of freelance writing and graphic design work, and now I have to write Uncle Sam a check every year.
I figure some folks wait until the last minute to file their tax returns, in part, because they enjoy the excitement and adrenaline rush it causes, much like waiting until Dec. 23 to start your Christmas shopping.
But I wait until the last minute because I know I’m going to owe some greenbacks and I want to hold on to them for as long as possible, perhaps with the naive hope that the government is going to announce on April 14 that anyone who hasn’t already paid their taxes can skip this year.
Of course, the government would never do that. The concept of “taxation without representation” was a great one on which to base the American Revolution. But I’m here to tell you that “taxation with representation” ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, either.
For most of my life, I’ve heard Congress talking about simplifying the tax code so that everyone could easily understand it. But instead it seems to only get more complicated.
Of course, Congress hasn’t done anything about Social Security, immigration or the budget in years, either, which is why Congress now has the same approval rating as hemorrhoids.
A friend, frustrated by the lack of action in Congress, went on a rant against Washington and referred to congressmen as “cheap politicians.”
“Au contraire,” I shot back. “Given the amount of taxes you’re sending to Washington, the politicians may be a lot of things. But cheap ain’t one of ‘em.”
Essentially, the IRS could make tax preparation easy. It only needs a tax form with four lines.
Line 1: How much money did you make last year?
Line 2: How much tax did we withhold from your paychecks last year?
Line 3: How much do you have left?
Line 4: Send it to us.
I’m convinced the frustration of the forms is what pushes so many people to lie on their taxes. George Washington never told a lie, but then again he never had to file a Form 1040.
“Do you know why they call it the 1040 Form?” a friend asked me last week.
I didn’t.
“That’s because for every $50 you earn, you get $10 and the government gets $40.”
That shouldn’t surprise us. After all, have you ever noticed that when you put the words “The” and “IRS” together, it spells “theirs”?
