Tax day in the USA!

[yesdachi]

April 17th just happens to be tax day in the US this year. Anyone have any exciting tax stories to share?

Even though I have had some goofy issues with self employment this last year (and the last few) Mrs. Dachi and I decided to file for ourselves on TurboTax online. It worked out well and we are going to get a few bucks back. It took some time to figure it all (deductions and credits and such) out but it was better than giving my tax guy a handful of hundreds for doing basically the same thing.

If your not paying US taxes when are yours due?

Here is an interesting link (http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Taxes/P148855.asp?GT1=8011) to some tax comparisons on MSN.

[Banquo's Ghost]

When I read the headline, I thought you meant this kind of Tax Day....

June 3rd is now when Brits stop working for the government. (http://www.adamsmith.org/tax/)


How long do we have to spend working for the government, rather than ourselves? The answer is nearly half the year.

The March 2005 Budget moved Tax Freedom Day later by 3 days. The March 2006 Budget means that this year we will have to work yet another three days for the government. These are both historically very large increases in the tax burden. And 3 June is the latest that Tax Freedom Day has been since 1988!

Interesting link of yours. Pleased to see Ireland beat the US in something!

[yesdachi]

When I read the headline, I thought you meant this kind of Tax Day....

June 3rd is now when Brits stop working for the government. (http://www.adamsmith.org/tax/)


How long do we have to spend working for the government, rather than ourselves? The answer is nearly half the year.

The March 2005 Budget moved Tax Freedom Day later by 3 days. The March 2006 Budget means that this year we will have to work yet another three days for the government. These are both historically very large increases in the tax burden. And 3 June is the latest that Tax Freedom Day has been since 1988!

Interesting link of yours. Pleased to see Ireland beat the US in something!

Nope, but it looks like I have a reason to start another thread on June 3rd.~D

[Don Corleone]

What you're talking about Haruchai is what we call "Tax Freedom Day". It usually comes in the last week of May here in the United States (being the "extreme capitalists" we are, we only have to hand over 43.4% of our salary in taxes compared to the 44.2% you socialist folks pay on average.

This is the day you have to file your tax records with the government. If you overpaid the taxman, you get a little back. If you didn't pay enough, you have to write him a check. If you underpaid by more than 10% of your total bill, you have to pay a penalty to boot. No penalty or interest if the government owes you.

Anyway, this is the day we all become amateur accountants. I think in Europe, you just pay. But our tax system is so incredibly complicated, the IRS refuses to take responsibility for it... you have to calculate your own taxes, and if you or your accountant are wrong... YOU GO TO JAIL. :skull:

As for Yesdachi's link, it's not a fair comparison. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the ROI, or the UK, or France, you pay VAT and you pay income tax to the federal government, end of story, right?

Here, to the Federal government, you pay a federal income tax, a medicare/medicaid tax and your Social Security taxes. To your state government, you pay a state income tax, and more and more frequently, a state medicare/medicaid tax. And in many major cities, you pay a city income tax. You pay property taxes. If you own a car, you pay taxes on them every year too. You pay a sales tax to your state (typically 5%-7% of the total purchase price). This sales tax is on top of something very similar to the VAT, where the government charges coroporations (or small businessmen, for that matter) a tax for the increased value of a product they process.

Those are just the taxes we can pretend to comprehend. Then, every utility bill we pay, such as cable, the phone, etc, we pay a tax. We also pay a usage tax on roads in many states (gets added on to your vehicular taxes, it's based on the cost of the vehicle). We also have a whole bunch of taxes that kick in if you do any financial transactions.

Comparing federal income tax in the USA to other countries gives a very misleading picture. Generally speaking, the US has a comparable total tax burden, frequently it's even higher.

[lars573]

I've never had to pay income taxes. As I've never made enough to get into the bottom tax bracket. Which is IIRC aobut $7000.

[Sjakihata]

Yep me too, Im on the other end, getting money from the government and an education - keep the taxes flowing!

[Marcellus]

As for Yesdachi's link, it's not a fair comparison. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the ROI, or the UK, or France, you pay VAT and you pay income tax to the federal government, end of story, right?

Well, not exactly...in the UK we have the following taxes:

Income Tax
National Insurance
Council Tax
Value Added Tax
Corporation Tax
Stamp Duty
Inheritance tax
Excise duty (on alcohol, tobacco, fuel etc.)
Capital Gains Tax
Window tax (alright, we haven't had this one for a while now)

Those are the main ones at least.

More here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_the_United_Kingdom).

Edit: 1000 posts! :balloon2:

[yesdachi]

What do you get when you pay “value added tax”?

Don’t say more value.


congrats on 1,000!

[Marcellus]

What do you get when you pay “value added tax”?

Don’t say more value.

More value ~;)

It's just a tax on most goods and services. On most goods and services there is a 17.5% charge, which just goes to the government for them to spend on whatever they see fit. Some stuff is exempt, like children's clothes and basic foodstuffs, and a few things are charged at just 5%, I think.


congrats on 1,000!

Thanks!

[Don Corleone]

I think Yesdachi was asking you if the revenue collected for VAT gets apportioned specifically to one area of government or another? Frequently, there's special taxes in the US, and in order to get them approved, they promise to only use the money for a specific area... For example, the stupidity tax (okay, the state lottery), the money goes to the state education fund.

Tax question for US citizens.... I just filed electronically. Question... if I itemized, and I had deductions that required providing a receipt... do I just hold onto those with the printed copy of what I filed, or do I need to go mail them in?

[Banquo's Ghost]

What do you get when you pay “value added tax”?


Shafted.

~:mecry:

[Marcellus]

I think Yesdachi was asking you if the revenue collected for VAT gets apportioned specifically to one area of government or another? Frequently, there's special taxes in the US, and in order to get them approved, they promise to only use the money for a specific area... For example, the stupidity tax (okay, the state lottery), the money goes to the state education fund.

Oh, OK, sorry. I don't believe they go to anywhere specific. Government can spend it as they wish, like income tax.

[yesdachi]

Tax question for US citizens.... I just filed electronically. Question... if I itemized, and I had deductions that required providing a receipt... do I just hold onto those with the printed copy of what I filed, or do I need to go mail them in?
I just keep mine incase I’m audited. Even with things like gas receipts, they just go in the folder I keep all my tax paperwork in for the year*.

*Yesdachi is not to be held accountable for any tax preparation advice given.

[solypsist]

i did okay. enough to buy some important items i will need in the near future.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I think Yesdachi was asking you if the revenue collected for VAT gets apportioned specifically to one area of government or another? Frequently, there's special taxes in the US, and in order to get them approved, they promise to only use the money for a specific area... For example, the stupidity tax (okay, the state lottery), the money goes to the state education fund.

Tax question for US citizens.... I just filed electronically. Question... if I itemized, and I had deductions that required providing a receipt... do I just hold onto those with the printed copy of what I filed, or do I need to go mail them in?

The money gained through VAT is administered centrally, but a few of the taxes we pay in the UK are used for specific purposes. National Insurance contributions are used to pay for social security-in fact, our NI is very similar to your social security, even down to every citizen having a specific NI number. Council Tax is implemented at a local council level (as implied by the name) and is used by the councils to pay for amenities, repair work, local developments, etc.

There are a couple of other taxes Marcellus left out-you have to pay road tax if you own a car, unless it's declared off the road: This is done by buying a little voucher you stick in your windscreen. If you own a TV, you have to have a TV licence, which is essentially a tax that pays for the BBC.

[Divinus Arma]

I pay virtually nothing in tax. Only Social Security, Medicare, etc, but not the actual federeal or state income tax. First of all, half of my income is non-taxable. Secondly, I get to deduct all of my mortgage. Double bonus!