LoArmistead Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 A tax refund isn't as great as it seems. It isn't free money, it's money that is rightfully yours by law. It's effectively an interest-free loan that you have given to the government for up to one year. The crappy part is, if you try to give a similar interest free loan to a friend, or give them a loan at an interest rate below market, our IRS will impute "imaginary" interest on you and your friend, and fine you based on you charging the market interest rate... but when it comes to you giving the government an interest-free loan for a year, there is no such courtesy. A double standard that I have issues with, among about a zillion other things with our tax code. Stuff in America is definitely cheaper - purchasing parity in reality is $1 = Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfox Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 It's free! It's free! No one pays for it, it's freeeee!!! And if you think our income taxes are high today, check back in one year. All of our taxes are going up, no matter how little we make. <_< Yes, there is a price to be paid for change we can believe in, and boy will we be paying it, for a long, long, long time. It's interesting actually with this whole health-reform lark going down of late. As I work for a pharmaceutical, Obama losing his election means that our products will potentially not have their prices slashed with a national health service, which in turn, has caused our share price to spike has high as 10.25% growth - in a single trading day! As a shareholder myself, this is fantastic news, as my shares were issued to me at a low price, and now they are worth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanoprobe Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Now my advise for those who die, Declare those pennies on your eyes, Cuz I'm the taxman, Yea I'm the taxman. -The Beatles- I think people in the U.S. would be amazed at how much they are losing by getting a "refund." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengiant912 Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 TAX back ??? what the hell is that all about? I have never had a penny. Come on someone please give me a job so i can live in the USA... PLEASE Will sort big stones from little stones. Edit: Just been thinking about TAX . In the UK they have TAXed us so bad its $9.67 for 20 smokes! and $4.83 for a beer! Whats the prices over there ? Its up to $6-7 in Wisconsin, I know in New York City taxes em like crazy $10.00 or so... As a non-smoker and someone who thinks that it is just a pure waste of money for those who do I don't really mind them taxing the hell out of smokes. It will give people an incentive to quit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fire_storm Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Taxes on cigarettes are so high because they want people to quit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoArmistead Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Taxes on cigarettes are so high because they want people to quit. Which ordinarily I wouldn't have any major gripes with if a state wanted to institute it, but when the federal government institutes a law that will invariably lead to decreased tax revenues over time, and uses those shrinking revenues to fund an ever-expanding children's health insurance program... that's when I start to complain. Eventually the health insurance expenditures will outweigh the tax revenues (as it is already beginning to do), and they will have to create another tax to pay for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfox Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Taxes on cigarettes are so high because they want people to quit. That's what they want you to believe. By making it look that way, Government appears to care. But the upside? More revenue, because cigarettes are an exteremely addictive drug, which has been legalised and people struggle a huge amount to quit. For every quitter, you can bet your bottom dollar that there are ten new smokers. The revenues from tobacco tax outweigh the burden on the health system, that's for sure. Which ordinarily I wouldn't have any major gripes with if a state wanted to institute it, but when the federal government institutes a law that will invariably lead to decreased tax revenues over time, and uses those shrinking revenues to fund an ever-expanding children's health insurance program... that's when I start to complain. Eventually the health insurance expenditures will outweigh the tax revenues (as it is already beginning to do), and they will have to create another tax to pay for it. Do you think (or have reason to believe) that tax revenues from tobacco are going down? That's not a derogatory statement at all - genuinely interested to know, because here in the UK, we have smoking bans in public places (pubs, clubs, hotels etc) and in the USA it seems rife! Not to mention the cheap price (comparatively) for tobacco there. Our NHS is suffering a lot from smoking related diseases (but these days, I wouldn't expect obesity to be far off that), and I would put good money on tobacco tax revenue still rising each year. Which leads me to an interesting quote I read a while back: "So a pub will refuse to serve me beer if I'm already too drunk. That's stupid, because McDonalds won't refuse to serve me food if I'm already too fat." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
greengiant912 Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 OMFG the government is out to destroy everybody's lives!!!! Whatever shall we do, those evil liberals... -_- Burn em, Hang em, do something!!! They are out to destroy this country!! AHHHHH!111!!!111!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoArmistead Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Do you think (or have reason to believe) that tax revenues from tobacco are going down? Yes. Tobacco use in the US is about half of what it was two decades ago, down to 20% from 40% of the population. Its use is "leveling off" at best, and SCHIP is only becoming larger. So that either means raising the tobacco taxes more until it becomes prohibitively expensive and usage decreases, or finding another tax to offset the difference. We already had to double tobacco taxes this past year to continue funding the SCHIP expansion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverfox Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Yes. Tobacco use in the US is about half of what it was two decades ago, down to 20% from 40% of the population. Its use is "leveling off" at best, and SCHIP is only becoming larger. So that either means raising the tobacco taxes more until it becomes prohibitively expensive and usage decreases, or finding another tax to offset the difference. We already had to double tobacco taxes this past year to continue funding the SCHIP expansion. I can see now where potential income tax rises may sadly come from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolimit974 Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 I am getting back $1265.10 direct deposited by feb. 5 and i am probably gonna buy the following for ibuypower.com Battalion 101 CZ-10 Ultra [2] Notebook Case ( Battalion 101 CZ-10 Ultra 15.6" WXGA 1366x768 Widescreen W-LED LCD TFT Notebook w/Li-ion battery, Universal AC Power Adapter - Original Metallic Black Color ) Processor ( Intel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoArmistead Posted February 1, 2010 Posted February 1, 2010 Mine is going towards my IRA, Savings, and to finance my DC-Gettysburg trip in May. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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