Taxes are a necessary evil, but their evil is hidden for most, in that taxes are deducted from paychecks, so when you get your paycheck it’s fait accompli, and although there’s some grumbling, it happens without the individual really being involved in the process.
This was brought home to me in the last couple of years, when I became an Independent Contractor: I get a check with nothing taken out of it, which is eye-opening. Then I get to take care of everything, and that’s when taxes became something I paid attention to, because now I have to write checks to pay them. It has sensitized me to our tax system, and not in a good way.
I was wondering how best to advocate reform, and it occurred to me that we’d have tax reform in about 90 days if everyone had to take care of their own taxes quarterly instead of being deducted automatically. Think of it as being like medpundit’s cure for the health insurance crisis (delink it from paychecks, make people responsible for their own healthcare spending at it will be much better controlled).
Where’s that Flat Tax?
Good point/s. This might be of interest: it’s not quite a “flat tax”, but it may be worth supporting:
http://www.fairtaxvolunteer.org/main.html
You got that right. Withholding makes the process too easy, almost painless… when somebody is screwing you, it’s only fair that you should feel it.
When I was a contractor, my total tax bill – after state, federal, and “self-employment tax” – was just over 50%.
Ouch.
Good idea! I had a little post on this on my web site.