5 Tax Myth Article Seemed Wrong To Me

The Washington Post had this article, 5 Myths about your taxes, and it seemed somehow wrong to me.  Here's their list of 5 Tax Myths and a summary of their explanations:

1.  The poorest and the richest Americans pay no taxes. - 45% of the populations pays no federal income tax but they get taxed elsewhere (Social Security, Medicare, sales tax, and property taxes).

2.  Americans are overtaxed. - We pay what boils down to $13,000 for every American but other developed countries pay more.  *I'll definitely come back to this*

3.  Higher taxes could eliminate the federal deficit. - According to a study they cite, taxes would have to be raised 40% to reduce the deficit to 3% of GDP.

4.  Most people's tax returns are way too complicated. - Two-thirds of Americans don't itemize anything and can use a simple form.

5.  You should aim for a big tax refund. - It's your money and you shouldn't lend it for free.

I understand their points, but here's my take:

1.  Okay, 45% of taxpayers pay other kinds of taxes, but they don't pay federal income taxes.  Since this article is about federal income taxes, what does that have to do with it?  I'm not trying to be flippant, but 45% aren't paying any federal income tax...

2.  $13,000 per American with 45% of the taxpayers not paying federal income taxes means that the other 55% is picking up that tab.  That sounds like a freaking lot to me.  Also, I honestly don't care about tax rates of other countries...aren't we a country that hates to be comparable to others?

3.  Okay, so if higher tax rates won't solve the problem, how can we convince the government to stick to an actual budget?  Like every person in debt, you have to stop the constant drain before you can work your way out, right?

4.  Complicated is a matter of perspective...that's all I have to say about that.

5.  I agree but I also budget really well and plan to pay in April...I think this needs to be a personal decision.  People know themselves...if they can't put away money for taxes throughout the year, they should make sure that they pay enough or more than enough.  Just please understand that a refund is simply getting your own money back...keep that in mind when you choose what to do with it.  :-)

What do you think?

Do You Have Unclaimed Cash with the IRS from 2006?

According to this article on Yahoo, the IRS is currently holding $1.3 billion in unclaimed refunds from 2006.

Apparently, 1.4 million people didn’t file their 2006 tax returns even though they were owed money. Even if they didn’t owe the IRS, didn’t they think the IRS might owe them? And this seems to happen every year.

Anyway, if you didn’t file in 2006, I’d check it out by April 15…that’s when the 3 year window closes and the money gets to stay with the IRS. The article suggests downloading a 2006 Form 1040 (or 2007 or 2008) from this site if you think some of this money may be yours.

Sadly, I know this money isn’t ours since we have filed returns since 2001…maybe one of my lucky readers forgot to file one of those years?

I understand if you too are wondering why someone would blow that off, but hey, maybe they were really busy that year…

Sorry for the overall snarkiness...it's a combination of frustration with laziness and jealousy since I'm not getting to pry some of my money back.  :-)