Tax Day Blues
I have been hearing a good bit of groaning at work and online on my favorite blogs. It happens around this time of the year like clockwork. Taxes are not the most fun thing. There is quite a bit not to like.
- It’s complicated.
- It’s time consuming.
- It’s expensive.
Everyone at some point deserves to gripe about taxes. And then there are the upward 2% of the population that will (hopefully tongue in cheek) complain to no end that their tax bill is too high and patently unfair. That is simply ridiculous. The rich pay more in taxes because the rich make more money. It’s just that simple.
I find it very telling that many rants such as these will gladly post their final tax bill for the world to see but somehow neglect to add what their yearly income was. I would not be surprised to find that as a percentage of their gross income, these individuals pay less than they would have the public believe. There are plenty of ways for the wealthy to pay lower taxes per dollar of gross income. Contributions to tax advantaged retirement accounts reduce taxable income. Income from dividends are taxed at a lower rate than earned income. Long term capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than earned income.
Let me be clear I would love to have the problem of a six figure tax bill on April the 15th of every year. That would mean I’ve made mountains of money in the last year. I would be bragging about the size of my tax bill if I indeed made so much money.
The actual dollar amount is arbitrary. You need to know the percentage of gross income to know the full story.