Taxes, Taxes and More Taxes....

Everyone, guess what time it is... Tax Season is quickly approaching (or maybe its already started). Either way, I hate this time of year. I am usually happy if I get close to break even, but generally I have to pay.

I had an interesting conversation at work the other day on that subject. One guy said, its stupid that I have to actually pay a tax when I file. He maxes out his taxes and gets a "huge" refund every year. Now I personally think that is insane. Think about what you are doing if that's your strategy. If you get a refund every year, that means in effect you loaned the government your money and paid additional money to file a form to get back what you over paid...Interest free. If any of you are giving out interest free loans, I'll gladly take one.

Have you ever heard that saying, that you have to work until May 10 (can't remember exact date) to actually pay all of your taxes in the year... Sound upserd? Well it actually isn't. I believe you probably work longer than May to pay your tax bill. The US actually has one of the lowest tax rates in the world. Despite that, do you know how many different taxes you pay... Allow me to help illustrate. Below is a listing of some of the taxes out there... Maybe you've seen these before, maybe you haven't....

Accounts Receivable Tax, Building Permit Tax, CDL License Tax, Cigarette Tax. Corporate Income Tax, Dog License Tax, Federal Income Tax, Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax, Fuel Perm it Tax, Gasoline Tax, Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax, Inventory Tax, IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax.. one of my favorites), IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax),Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Service charge taxes, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Tax (Truckers), Sales Taxes, Recreational Vehicle Tax, School Tax, State Income Tax, State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax, Utility Tax, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax.... How can we forget Tolls, The State Lottery (Voluntary tax, or some call it the stupid tax), Cable tax, Tire Tax...

Depressed yet...I am. So, maxing out your taxes and getting that "big refund" every April is not a good idea. Consider it fools gold, if you are not a saver, then maybe its a good thing. But overall, you save in the long run by owing a check at tax filing, not getting a refund. Here is what is upserd, there is a billion dollar tax industry that exists to get you a refund. Think about the revenues of H&R Block, Turbo Tax, Quicken / Intuit, Jackson-Hewitt, and the thousands of accounting firms out there. Happy Filing!