Sorry for my relative silence over the last few days, but I had to get my taxes together. My employer gave me K-1s in early April, so I had to push to meet the April 17th deadline. Maybe if I weren’t negatively disposed to the way the US government uses the money, I would be more chipper. Instead, I think we should hold elections near April 20th, or move the normal tax filing date to October 31st, which would highlight the ghouls that are sucking our blood for little good reason.
Of course the politicians would never do this. A sleepy electorate is the best electorate. The cozy duopoly of the Democrats and Republicans helps insure that no change will happen to the dysfunctional political process that we now have.
Excellent idea, David!
David,
Well, you’re welcome to move up to Canada. Our taxes our due at the end of April, so you get an extra two weeks to file. On the other hand, tax freedom day often arrives 6-8 weeks later up here than it does in the States, so be careful what you wish for….
Steve
Steve, it’s not the level of taxation that bothers me as much as the way it gets spent. Living where I do, I have more than my fair share of friends who are in mid-level positions in the military industrial complex. We don’t spend smart, and we try to do too much. (Don’t get me started on the war… I was even against Gulf War I.)
Beyond that, the complexity of the tax code is mind-numbing. I still do my own taxes. I don’t want to give that up, but I am having to do some things that would make some accountants scratch their heads. There are ways to simplify the definition of income; it’s not hard to do, but politicians like the Christmas Tree approach to the tax code, hanging out goodies for special interests. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was a marvel of simplicity; would that we could go back to it. Only those that benefit from complex tax shelters would be hurt. (My but they are powerful lobbyists…)David,
That’s very true. Even up in Canada one hears of the absurd complexity of the US tax code, not to mention the army of lobbyists in Washington. Shocking to contemplate a correlation between the size of the tax code and the number of lobbyists, don’t you think?