Here is my article from the March – April issue of TK Magazine

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April is coming. Income Tax. Oh, goody.

As a dedicated Libertarian I have many complaints about the IRS and the Income Tax, and its intrinsic invasiveness is right up there at the top of my list. Like the frog in the pot of water that gets hotter and hotter, humans seem to be able to get used to the most appalling conditions. We have become so accustomed to being required by law to hand over private information about our income, medical expenses, charitable giving, and investments that we see it as acceptable, even desirable. It’s not, folks. It’s just plain wrong.

As bad an idea as the Income Tax is as a means of collecting revenue for the government, it has become something worse: It has become a means of manipulating behavior. No matter what you, personally, may consider admirable behavior, your government has specified what actions it believes to be so special that they are deserving of financial favors. Charitable giving is one. Buying certain kinds of bonds will get you a tax break, as will adopting a baby. It’s not that we are not all better off because you donated to the Rescue Mission or took a child into your home – I truly believe we are. It’s just that the IRS list of commendable behavior is not exhaustive, and I resent my government trying to coerce me (or you) into doing something very specific by dangling money in front of our noses.

James Madison wrote:

It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood….

And yet there is a thriving industry, headed by tax lawyers and tax accountants and software publishers and lots of companies advertising on television right now, that owes its existence to the fact that the average intelligent, educated citizen cannot figure out what her government wants from her in the way of income tax. These companies compete with each other by claiming they can find you more deductions than the other guy. The laws are so convoluted that their competitor can’t possibly understand them. And, of course, neither can you. This is just plain wrong, folks.

I learned something new when I filed my 2007 income tax. I got a letter from the Kansas Department of Revenue that began, “The Kansas Department of Revenue has determined that your estimated tax or withholding tax payments were below the level required by law…. Therefore, you are being assessed a penalty…”

In other words, I was being assessed a penalty not because I didn’t pay my taxes, and not because they were late (that was another issue), and not because I didn’t pay enough. I was being assessed a penalty because I didn’t pay enough AHEAD OF THE APRIL 15 DUE DATE. If my taxes are due on a specific date, I should be able to pay the whole amount on that date and not a minute before if that’s what I choose to do. Apparently the state DOR doesn’t see it that way.

And that is just plain wrong, folks.

Posted by Sharon under Reprints from TK Magazine | No Comments »