Taxes are not the problem. Billionaires grabbing the money on the other side are the problem.
Know the difference
The people most capable of carrying the tax burden are the people most likely to cheat their way out of paying taxes.
Dont forget actively using the government against the people
Taxes are also the problem in countries like the US and China wherein income tax only exists to remove currency from circulation. There’s plenty of other ways to do that in a digital world.
deleted by creator
Yeah having to do your taxes yourself is fucking archaic and stupid. They know how much you owe them. Either deduct that when people are paid (falls on the employer) or just tell people what they owe.
Well, again, the taxes are not the problem, but the bad design of the deduction process. The war on taxes, especially in the US but also in Europe, is a strategy from the right and neoliberals to cut down on social welfare and essentially redistribute money to the rich.
Taxes are good and important, but it’s difficult to figure out what to tax and by how much, and how to use the money well.
There’s certainly taxes, I paid income tax and they revised the rates at least once while I was living there. No sales tax that I noticed but that’s not the only tax.
deleted by creator
Yeah, but that’s not the argument you were making. You said there were no taxes.
Income tax is a tax even if you don’t pay it at certain levels. In the US if you make under something like 20k a year that is also effectively tax exempt due to low income. Doesn’t mean there are no taxes.
deleted by creator
The rich would just use crypto
Don’t worry DOGE will fix that and every American will get a refund!
Yep, and this cartoon feels like America would keep voting for this stupid fascist stuff as long as they keep promising the Libertarian ideal of lower and lower taxes.
Americans trained to defund America, the enemy was inside all along.
Have you read A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear?
At the end of the libertarian experiment (which surprisingly ended in failure) they had almost no services in the town yet still paid as much taxes as the neighboring towns which had tons of fully funded services.
And they got over run by bears. It’s a good story if anyone wants to look it up and know more.
My favorite is that everyone had different idea what true freedom was and they kept treading on each other’s freedoms.
“the first matrix was a paradise”
And they didn’t even deliver on that one simple thing.
Taxes go up for every voter making less than 357,000$
Know you’re joking, but just think it’s funny to point out that one of DOGE’s first acts was to try to kill the direct file system the IRS maintains to make it easier for some people to file their taxes. I feel like that one didn’t get a lot of coverage.
And they just fired a huge chunk of the IRS as well.
… Right into Col. Musks bank account!
Colonel Musktard?
The one and only
It’s very hard to find the motivation to pay taxes to a federal government that doesn’t represent me. “No taxation without representation” drove the revolution against our original king after all…
Now that it’s clear the Federal government is just using tax money to give to billionaires, it’s going to be extra painful this year. It genuinely just feels like a protection racket now. Pay money to the ruling class, or their enforcers will haul you away to prison.
Out of curiosity, were you of voting age in 2016?
Yes, and I voted for Hillary, for all the good it did.
Yes, and Bernie in the primary.
deleted by creator
In the Norwegian tax system, if you pay too much taxes trough the year from your paycheck, you get interest on the amount you paid to much. Likewise, if you pay too little taxes throughout the year, you will have to pay interest on the amount you have yet to pay. So the system is supposed to be balanced in that regard. The interest is on the level of a savings account (3.51% annual atm), so you could make an argument that saving that in a index stock or good bond is a better ROI though, so still recommended to try to not pay too much during the year.
deleted by creator
Employers deduct a part of your salary as taxes on every paycheck (usually monthly). But how much they deduct is based on your tax profile which is created by the tax authorities. It’s typically based on expected yearly income. However, you are allowed (and encouraged) to update this number yourself.
So say you swap to a lower paid job, or work less overtime than you planned, you can change your expected annual income to reflect this in taxes paid. If you don’t however, then you effectively pay too much taxes as your employer is basing the taxes on too high numbers.
Another reason is that you may have tax deductions that only gets computed into the total when you fill out your full tax report. So if you didn’t bake those into your tax profile at the start of the year, you might get returns on your taxes (with interest).
You can also downplay how much taxes to pay through salaries, in which case you will owe back taxes when the full tax report is made.
Interesting. I presume for the average adult this wouldn’t really be an issue, unless they are switching job or working some kind of job with variable income. Unrelated question- do you like living in Norway?
Yeah, it’s not an issue for most people. I think the system works well. And the annual taxes are very simple to fill out. The report comes filled out for you, and you just need to make adjustments or approve it as is. Never had any issues with tracking or reporting my taxes.
I really enjoy living in Norway. I feel the culture and the way of life suits my preferences very well. There are of course always things one hope improves over time and things that could be better. But overall, life is good here I feel.
deleted by creator
Taxes can get extremely complicated depending on your situation. In my relatively simple case as a contractor, I’m on the hook for calculating and paying taxes quarterly (since my employer(s) don’t do it for me). The exact amount I’m meant to pay is
yearly income/4, which means I need to predict how much I’ll earn throughout the entire year, which is impossible without a crystal ball.So I just pay what I think I’ll earn, and at the end of the year calculate the difference from what I actually earned, and either send or receive a payment from the government. From the IRS point of view, whatever interest they end up paying me is probably less than the cost of government having a cashflow issue throughout the year without those quarterly payments.
deleted by creator
I actually wish I could do this in Australia, for the reasons you mention (from a self-interested point of view).
I’m glad tax witholding is mandatory here though, because the government has to pay for stuff throughout the year, on services which we all benefit.
And it reduces the number of people who have illogical emotional reactions on having to pay taxes. (Much less resistance when you get a touch back, than have to pay more)
We do also pay taxes for stupid shit, like our tribute of $300 B AUD to the US for submarines. But alas, such is government spending. We can’t all agree what’s actually good.
Should have stuck with France.
I look at it like a non-voluntary piggy bank. I set the amount I’m going to withhold from every pay check, and anything over, gets given back. Sure it’s interest free but if you look at an actual bank, interest rates on that money sitting in a savings account is pennies. And if you’re someone who is bad at not spending your money, having it held for you with no real way to withdraw it is helpful when budgeting.
Besides, it’s easy to over pay, it’s pretty difficult for most people to net zero on tax payments without ending up owing money. And the amount you owe, could be something you hadn’t budgeted for. I owe $450 this year. I don’t really know where I’m getting that money. Most people will be less happy owing money than over paying and getting a refund.
They do give you interest, but it’s not as good as you can get from investing it elsewhere. And if you owe student loans, they can yoink your return before you were otherwise going to pay the debt.
In the country where you don’t know what you ll end up paying unless you go to the counter, because the taxes are not included, its only “logical” to not have your taxes deducted from your payslio because reasons
I ll never understand this shit, smh
I’m not sure what country you’re talking about, but I assume the U.S. We do have taxes deducted from payroll, and you fill out a form telling the employer (and the IRS) what amount to deduct based on estimated income, family size, and a couple of other factors. Then in April we have to file our official tax form declaring actual income, and if we owe less than what was deducted from our paychecks we receive that back as a refund, but if we underestimated we have to pay whatever taxes are remaining. The reason that filing taxes is so complicated is the sheer volume of deductions, exemptions, credits, etc that have been piled on top of the tax code over the years (plus lobbying by the tax prep industry). It’s a stupid system, but it’s not as stupid as some people seem to be assuming in this thread. If you set up your withholding right, you shouldn’t ever owe taxes when it’s time to file.
Now, if you’re self-employed or a contractor (and considered self-employed) the whole thing kind of falls apart and it’s a lot easier to wind up owning a bunch of money. Like I said, it is a stupid system, just not quite as crazy as some people seem to be assuming.
To add one thing to the only reasonable comment I’ve seen in this thread: if you’re poorer, your taxes are probably easy and straightforward. If you have money and your taxes are more complicated, you can probably afford to have someone do them for you.
I can’t agree with this enough, though I think part of the problem is that it isn’t what’s easy to complete your W-4 accurately, there is an entire worksheet to use if you file jointly that is sorta difficult to do well, especially if both people make fairly different amounts. If you just choose the basic withholding it’s very likely the bigger breadwinner isn’t withholding enough and you’ll end up owing about what the comic shows (at least that is my experience, as well as some friends).
I think the real problem in the US is that everyone is left to do their tax paperwork from scratch every year when the IRS could send you a personalized return prefilled that you then claim the deductions and credits you’re due and account for any descrpenices (which sure, is what your W-2 is supposed to be, but it isn’t really that, you still need to use the worksheets on the 1040 or pay someone/some software to do it for you; a prefilled 1040 would be a way better system).
It also doesn’t account for the huge variations in state taxes. Many states have income taxes, some are reciprocal with nearby states and others aren’t, the deductions and credits and even what is taxable is all different. The whole thing is a mess. Then lord help you if you live in a state with local income taxes or one where your local taxes are different than school taxes(like PA) and the whole thing is a half day exercise in frustration to complete and you’re still left wondering if you did it right.
Yeah, I’m not by any means trying to say that the American system is the best way of doing things. It’s definitely not, and to be honest I’ve never quite managed to get my state withholding right - I almost always owe a little bit (usually a hundred dollars or so). But some folks seem to have gotten some strange ideas about how bad it actually is.
Yeah, we almost always owe a tiny bit (usually less than $100, often less than $50) to the state. I don’t really understand how I can get so close but still miss it every year but overpay federal taxes when it’s all based on the same W-4 I give to my employer.
School taxes? What is that?
The school districts get part of our local income taxes which is separate from what municipalities get (technically municipalities run wholly on property taxes, and the schools get a portion of that plus a portion of local income taxes that are split with the county. It’s convoluted IMO). It depends on where you are employed and where you live, since your employer remits taxes to the municipality you work in and that municipality remits taxes to school districts based on where each employee lives (at least that’s how I understand it, it all is mostly transparent other than needing to include various location codes on forms for your employer and for your local tax return).
I look like that mouth-hanging-open emoji right now. Convoluted for sure!
Our municipal taxes are paid directly to the local council. Education is funded by central government.
Yeah I’ve heard of so many content creators that stream for a living that gets absolutely screwed over at the end of the year because since they own their own business they have all of the business tax and they hadn’t been putting in throughout the year so for them tax time always hurts
Haha, my last tax filing I owed another $40k.
My own fault for not paying taxes during the year though.
If you live in the USA then the government didnt decide to keep making it worse, the people did.
GOP wrote the last tax plan and they’re about to write the new one.
This is why I don’t blame the politicians. I blame the people
The people are partially to blame, but let’s be real, the voting system practically guarantees voter disenfranchisement.
It’s how the US has ended up with the far right, and right-lite-maybe-a-little-good-stuff-but-mostly-capitalism-status-quo party duopoly.
Democracy is dead in the digital age. It’s a non-functional and corrupt system incapable of representing or addressing the majority’s actual needs properly. The US has fallen before many European democracies, but they will crumble under the weight of AI-powered digital disinformation and manipulation too.
deleted by creator
How fucked are you if you don’t file?
I didn’t file last year, because I’ve been in a clusterfuck of borderline homelessness and odd jobs for the past two years. Idk if I am even able to file this year if I didn’t last?
Income amount that requires you to file
If you were under 65 at the end of 2024
If your filing status is: File a tax return if your gross income is: Single $14,600 or more Head of household $21,900 or more Married filing jointly $29,200 or more (both spouses under 65) $30,750 or more (one spouse under 65) Married filing separately $5 or more Qualifying surviving spouse $29,200 or more https://www.irs.gov/individuals/check-if-you-need-to-file-a-tax-return
I’ve had to work with the irs a few times in my life and they were always reasonable and understanding. I lost everything and had to scrounge up $200k by selling off a business and everything but a shirt off my back and they never charged interest or late fees because I always answered their calls and kept them updated on what was going on. I know many others have had different experiences but the two times I was in deep shit and desperate times I walked away with a positive experience from the irs.
It sounds like you aren’t making much money, so you probably don’t owe much, if any, in taxes. For the year 2024, if you got a W-2 from your employer, you should file. What you did in previous years won’t affect your ability to file this year. Who knows? perhaps you will get a refund.
If Americans want a proper country, yall better get used to paying 40% taxes like in Europe muhahahahah!!!
Ok, some parts of Europe…Bracketed income tax is a thing for a reason, and it is a good reason.
more income == more tax.
If I’m making less than $20k/year, there’s no reason to give a shit about my taxes, just let me live yo.
If I’m making $200k+/year, then we have a conversation on our hands.
If I’m making 2,000k+/year, then we have a problem and the conversation should have have been completed by now.
edit:
exact numbers are not relevant. if you have a functioning brain, then you know what I mean.
With state taxes, my top tax rate is above 40 percent. Are we counting healthcare and social security as taxes too? Where’s muh proper country?!
This government doesn’t deserve our tax dollars. Theyve made it clear they’re funneling as much as possible straight to the billionaires.
Just don’t pay.
And what would that do?
They already run a deficit, so they’ll run a bigger deficit. Printing money is a flat tax on everyone. So not paying taxes is just applying a flat tax on others.
Plus you get to go to jail and cost me money to support you there.
I’m all for effective protest, but this doesn’t seem to be it.
(Stupid question) Why would they print more money instead of just having a higher deficit until congress increases taxes on the poor?
It’s the same thing really. When they run a deficit, they’re paying money to somebody, so that money enters circulation causing inflation.
