NA /. Poll (on) Taxes

How do you feel about paying taxes?

  • It's my civic duty and I'm glad to do it

    Votes: 13 28.9%

  • I do it only because I have to

    Votes: 24 53.3%

  • I think the government squanders my money so I cheat at every opportunity while doing my taxes

    Votes: 7 15.6%

  • I think Wesley Snipes had it right and I'm not required to pay taxes

    Votes: 1 2.2%
  • Total voters
    45
Everskyward said:
If we are going to discuss a topic like this we need to do it without baiting and snark. Unfortunately, some cannot control their impulses to go down that road.
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I thought it was innocent enough, but it's your playground.
 
While I hate taxes in general I hate property taxes the most. They are the most heinous of taxes.

You never really own your home you only rent it from the state.

It is hardest on older people with a fixed income often driving them out of the homes they have owned for decades.

I currently pay about $100 a week for the privilege of living in my own home. My house is assessed at 130K nothing fancy in an extremely rural area where I get very little in the way of services in return for my money.
 
DFH65 said:
While I hate taxes in general I hate property taxes the most. They are the most heinous of taxes.

You never really own your home you only rent it from the state.

It is hardest on older people with a fixed income often driving them out of the homes they have owned for decades.

I currently pay about $100 a week for the privilege of living in my own home. My house is assessed at 130K nothing fancy in an extremely rural area where I get very little in the way of services in return for my money.
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I was going to say that. In my opinion it's nowhere close to being right. Taxed just to be able to own something. But others will say that if there was no property tax they'd have to raise the taxes on other things to make up for the shortfall. I guess that's true. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Funny thing about our state is that because of the uproar at the state university last year there was a lot of backlash about the state giving them so much tax money. So our new governor slashed their funding. So now they're raising tuition to make up for it...but our taxes never went down.
 
Gerhardt said:
I was going to say that. In my opinion it's nowhere close to being right. Taxed just to be able to own something. But others will say that if there was no property tax they'd have to raise the taxes on other things to make up for the shortfall. I guess that's true. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Funny thing about our state is that because of the uproar at the state university last year there was a lot of backlash about the state giving them so much tax money. So our new governor slashed their funding. So now they're raising tuition to make up for it...but our taxes never went down.
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Actually in my home town there are several exempt organizations with a few hundred or more resident employees. In the town with the vacation home there are thousands of waterfront homes with summer only residents. The trend in the home town is that when what I would call pork items come to vote, the non tax paying residents come out in droves and really sway the vote. In the vacation home town, the summer residents can't vote, so the year round residents go to town spending, occasionally, they are good most of the time, but both situations are really not fair.

One way to sober up some of these antics would be to devise a way for everyone to share the pain of paying for this stuff. Were I king I would abolish property tax and charge a head tax for all residents over the age of 21. Commercial properties would still pay a property tax. Of course while that is the ultimate fair tax, everyone would be up in arms, especially those who pay no property tax presently. So maybe a fairer (I use that term loosely) way would be to cap property taxes to a small increase each year and the new and extra stuff, like a new senior center, or a community center or that piece of conservation land would be paid for via a head tax. Simple and equitable solution in my mind.
 
The gov't lies, cheats, and steals. I have no problem using all the tricks I can to reduce my overall tax liability. It's tough when they keep cutting out those legitimate deductions, well, what used to be. I'd like to be able to take off for credit card interest, bank fees, and penalties. I'd like to not have to "verify" that I'm covered by health care insurance every year. I'd like them to acknowledge that a "user fee" is a tax.
Hey, if your less than 27 year old child can be covered by YOUR health care, doesn't that make them a legitimate deduction? And what genius decided there should be a cutoff? Probably another deduction they don't allow you.
 
Gerhardt said:
I was going to say that. In my opinion it's nowhere close to being right. Taxed just to be able to own something. But others will say that if there was no property tax they'd have to raise the taxes on other things to make up for the shortfall. I guess that's true. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Funny thing about our state is that because of the uproar at the state university last year there was a lot of backlash about the state giving them so much tax money. So our new governor slashed their funding. So now they're raising tuition to make up for it...but our taxes never went down.
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We should always lean towards use taxes where necessary. For example I would rather pay higher gas taxes for example to pay for maintaining roads than to pay property tax.
 
Sure, taxes are nesscary to fun government, but I think we probably should only pay 20% of ALL taxes we currently pay, and only have 20% of the government we have.

It's not uncommon to have a small town where the average household income is like 25k, zero benifits, a choice between paying insane insurance or getting fined, yet the average government worker makes 80k+ with full bennies and pension.
 
James331 said:
Sure, taxes are nesscary to fun government, but I think we probably should only pay 20% of ALL taxes we currently pay, and only have 20% of the government we have.

It's not uncommon to have a small town where the average household income is like 25k, zero benifits, a choice between paying insane insurance or getting fined, yet the average government worker makes 80k+ with full bennies and pension.
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Just remember what Will Rogers said "We don't get all the government we pay for. And we should be grateful!"
 
28th amendment to the US Constitution requiring a balanced budget first, then figure out the income portion. We spend too much regardless of what we bring in, and we keep doing it.
 
ytodd said:
28th amendment to the US Constitution requiring a balanced budget first, then figure out the income portion. We spend too much regardless of what we bring in, and we keep doing it.
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So Congress has been in violation of the Constitution for many years now. Many a budget has not been balanced.
 
PaulS said:
Now that is an interesting statement, that you pay much, much more than your fair share. Do expand upon that, it's a pretty open statement.
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I pay a lot more than I would if our tax code merely served the purpose of funding our government and equitably distributed that burden.
 
paflyer said:
I could buy a very nice SE airplane every year for what I pay in federal tax alone. I don't take any "risks" with deductions because I like to sleep at night, and that's just how I roll. I do have a very good accountant who's as scrupulous as I am.

God Himself only asks for 10%. How does the federal government justify anyone paying more? The progressive marginal rate is a ripoff, designed to prevent the accumulation of wealth by the masses.
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I am with you completely about this. When you factor in state, property tax, soc sec and medicare I could buy a nice twin every year. Being in the upper middle class with no small business puts you in the highest effective tax bracket. You have no legal place to cut your burden. You hit AMT and you lose the deductions the rest of the country gets. Anyway, not that I expect anyone to feel bad about my feeling of paying more than my fair share of taxes.
 
flhrci said:
So Congress has been in violation of the Constitution for many years now. Many a budget has not been balanced.
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There isn't a 28th amendment. There are only 27. I am saying we need a 28th and it should be the balanced budget amendment.
 
I don't fall under any of the poll categories. I a) feel the government squanders tax money, and that is not a partisan statement because both parties are equally bad at it, and b) use every legal and allowable means of reducing the tax burden on myself, which is very significant due to the structure of my business. I've paid my fair share. More than my fair share, actually.
 
Radar Contact said:
I am with you completely about this. When you factor in state, property tax, soc sec and medicare I could buy a nice twin every year. Being in the upper middle class with no small business puts you in the highest effective tax bracket. You have no legal place to cut your burden. You hit AMT and you lose the deductions the rest of the country gets. Anyway, not that I expect anyone to feel bad about my feeling of paying more than my fair share of taxes.
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That's what you get for busting your ass.
 
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