Is April 16 too soon to expect a refund? With the tax prep software offering free online filing, there shouldn't be an doubt that more and more people are doing it. So the refunds should get out sooner. Give us our money back!
Of course, a refund means the taxpayer overpaid during the year. Suckers. [Disclaimer: I've overpaid most years, so I'm as big a sucker as anyone.]
The dominate tax preparation software programs, Turbotax and H&R Block (formerly TaxCut), are cheap compared to the personal services a good accountant can provide. However, the very fact that we have to spend money to figure out how much we owe is a pretty good indicator of an overly complicated tax code, not that we need any more evidence.
A few years ago Steve Forbes campaigned for a Flat Tax, and he won over a lot of people. The Flat Tax is so simple and fair, and governments that have adopted it have done well by their people. There's really no reason it wouldn't work in the U.S. But the campaign fizzled. And today one hardly hears anything about it.
Another alternative tax plan is the Fair Tax -- a giant sales tax -- and in the alternative tax realm the Fair Tax seems to have the momentum now.
For me the Flat Tax sounds like a better program. As for the Fair Tax, tacking about 30% onto everything we buy is going make us think twice every time we shop. And it would likely create a pretty good sized underground economy. But the Fair Tax would rope in all those people who don't pay taxes under the present system, so there's that one benefit.
But anything is better than what we've got. Anything. If only our representatives in government would listen to their constituents.
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