Finally....
"The props for Patrick’s wish list" by Joan Vennochi | Globe Columnist, March 10, 2013
Basically, Governor Deval Patrick’s pushing the buttons Democrats regularly push to get lawmakers on board for tax increases. But so far, the button-pushing isn’t working the way it used to....
Because we have no more money and are sick of being looted for debt interest payments, corporate welfare, and lavish political lifestyles.
Beacon Hill’s resistance is partly related to Patrick’s lame-duck status. While the governor calls upon lawmakers to demonstrate political courage, he’s in the middle of his second and last term. Rumors continue to surface that he might leave office before his term is over. The skeptics under the Golden Dome face reelection, and they also have long memories. The last time Democrats signed onto a big tax hike, it led to 16 years of Republican governors.
And they will get one again if they do it again.
But the reluctance to automatically accept huge tax increases is also a sign of the times. The hesitance is directly connected to an economy that forced middle-class Americans to adjust to dramatic cuts in income and a downsized lifestyle.
This as we are told the economy is staring to really hum. Pfft.
It leaves many citizens, and even some liberals, wondering why government can’t make the same painful choices average citizens are making in their own lives.
Because they are insulated from it all by lobbying loot, and all they see is a pile of found money on a spreadsheet.
That basic question undercut dire warnings about the impact of sequestration — the automatic spending cuts that went into effect when Congress and the White House could not agree on an alternative budget plan.
Yeah, those cuts kicked in and the media dropped the urgent, sky-is-falling line from the Obama White House.
President Obama rolled out all the serious consequences, the country yawned, and sequestration clicked in. When and if the pain of programs lost hits home in a personal way, there may be more general interest in the debate over new revenue. But the public is growing numb to photo-ops and headlines about all that will be lost if new revenue doesn’t come through.
And by extension the shit constantly shoveled out by the lamestream media.
People simply don’t believe there are no more cuts to be made or efficiencies to achieve. They don’t trust government in Washington or in the blue state of Massachusetts.
And there are so many reasons for it. They lie about everything in one form or fashion.
That much has filtered down, even to Massachusetts liberals....
Has it?
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Related: Highway Robbery in Massachusetts
Mass. Manipulation of State Economic Numbers
I think you can see why I'm no longer in favor of state-sanctioned looting.
You should KEEP your TAX DOUGH, folks.
"That tax refund could cost you" by Michelle Singletary | Washington Post, March 10, 2013
Many taxpayers think that getting a federal refund is a big deal. They look forward to it all year.
As if it were found money and not money the government kept from you all year. Amazing how the system of mind-manipulation works, 'eh?
It’s the largest lump sum lots of people receive, according to the American Tax and Financial Center at TurboTax, the tax software company....
Typically, you pay your federal taxes by having a portion withheld from your pay. If too much is withheld, you get a refund. But guess what? In order to get that lump sum, you lent your money to the government with no interest.
Still, a majority of respondents in an online poll said they intentionally have too much money withheld from their pay so that they can receive that refund, according to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which conducted the survey.
WTF?
“Many people say that they can’t find a way to consistently save other than to short themselves through their payroll withholding,” said Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman for the NFCC. “That is indeed forced saving in the truest sense of the word.”
We call it slavery.
When it comes to what to do with the refund, most people do the smart thing — they use it to pay down debt or put it away for other uses.
Oh, that's the "smart" thing? Turn it over to creditors?
For others, it’s the little extra they need to stretch their paychecks at the beginning of the year.
If you are lucky enough to be getting one.
Forty-two percent of taxpayers who file their returns early use the funds to cover rent, food, and utilities, the TurboTax survey found.
Wouldn't keeping your own money week-to-week.... never mind, fool.
I’ve encouraged people to quit relying on a tax refund. Yet the lesson seems lost on so many.
I know how you feel.
Many intentionally get a refund because they don’t feel they are disciplined enough to save on their own. And if the alternative is that you won’t save, then go ahead and do what works for you. At least you’re putting that refund to good use when you get it.
But consider this. Your forced savings plan may be costing more than you realize.
We know that many folks live paycheck to paycheck, which often means not having enough to cover all their expenses. Some bills go unpaid or are paid late. Or perhaps you are making only the minimum payment on your credit cards because there aren’t any extra funds to pay them down faster.
“Why continue in this financially self-defeating cycle when a solution is so readily available?” Cunningham asks. “An incredible amount of damage is done to credit reports and scores each month due to consumers not being able to pay at least the minimum amount due, or paying it late. And that’s not even counting the amount of interest and late fees tacked on to existing balances.”
Yes, everyone knows usury sucks. What is the point?
So let us make the case against getting a refund....
Even if you plan on using the lump-sum refund to pay down debt, you’re still accumulating interest while you wait on your money from the IRS.
But what if you adjust your W-4 withholding so you don’t get a refund?
Sounds good!
*************************
You could add to the credit card payment....
What?
I think that makes a good case to quit getting a tax refund, don’t you?
No.
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Time for me to go fill out my forms:
"Mass. seeks to get all taxpayers to file returns online; With the ranks of users dwindling to 6%, state revenue officials try for hefty savings by prodding everyone to file electronically" by Todd Wallack | Globe Staff, March 12, 2013
This tax season, it’s the rare filer who still fills out a paper form by hand. But not rare enough, in the view of the state Department of Revenue.
State tax collectors want to gently shove that remaining 6 percent of pencil-and-paper-loving taxpayers from the 20th century into the electronic age. “My goal is to have nobody file on paper,” said Department of Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter.
For starters, the agency hopes to stop automatically mailing blank tax forms to paper filers as early as next year. Paper holdouts would have to make a special request, or download forms from the agency’s website.
And there is the power of persuasion — plus guilt.
That just makes me dig in more.
“C’mon admit it — filing paper tax returns is a hassle!” declares a full-page entreaty in the state tax booklet. “So forget about paper . . . about mistakes, stress, and longer refund wait times. E-file this year!”
Revenue officials also point to the many trees killed every year to produce all the paper forms that are filed, copied electronically, and eventually shredded — not to mention the thousands of additional forms that are distributed, but never used. “Just from an environmental perspective, it’s awful,” Pitter said.
You have a point there; however, what am I seeing on my newsstand every day?
The main reason to encourage electronic filing, of course, is money.
Then why the guilt trip? And then you wonder why no one trusts or believes?
It costs the state nearly $1 million a year to print, distribute, store, and process paper tax forms, an expense state officials would dearly love to eliminate. The IRS, which stopped automatically mailing out 1040s in 2011, estimates it costs 15 cents to process an electronic return, compared with $3.50 for a paper filing.
I'm willing to pay for it with my taxes, thanks. I mean, we shell out tens of millions every month for debt service, so....
The vast majority of taxpayers file electronically, through paid tax preparers or popular tax software, such as Intuit’s TurboTax. But many — including more than 200,000 who filed in Massachusetts alone last year — prefer to carefully fill out paper forms by hand.
Heather Hughes, 32, of Somerville, is one of them. She said she still uses the traditional forms because she doesn’t have complicated deductions. And she doesn’t want to spend money on an accountant or computer programs. “Neither my income nor my return justifies paying someone or paying for software,” Hughes said.
Oh, I have to buy something to file a tax return?
Hughes said she knows the state offers a free Web tool, but she would need a separate program to do federal returns. It just seems a lot simpler to stick with paper and copy the figures from one form to another and check the math, she said.
Pitter said she wasn’t concerned about people who use tax software to prepare their returns, print them out, and mail them because those returns typically have bar codes that make them easy to scan into the agency’s computer system and process electronically. She added that tax preparation software does the math, so it eliminates most mistakes spotted on paper returns (though ideally she’d love these taxpayers to file the returns online, too).
But some taxpayers say they have run into problems making the switch. Wayne MacDonald, 54, of Boston, said he tried to file his taxes online this year in hopes of receiving a faster refund. But he quickly became frustrated with one of the free online tools he found through the IRS website.
MacDonald said it required him to enter every number from the W-2 he received from his employer, something he was able to avoid with paper forms by simply attaching the W-2. And when he belatedly discovered a typo, he said he had to start the process over, wasting more than a half hour.
So instead of trying again, he headed to the Boston Public Library in Copley Square Wednesday morning to pick up the paper forms.
The paper form “is definitely easier,” said MacDonald, scooping the forms out of a bin. “I am not exactly great with the computer and Internet.”
You would think the agenda-pushing powers-that-be would be grateful.
Employees at the Boston Public Library said people come in to pick up paper tax forms nearly every day, especially on weekends early in the filing season. Last year, the library distributed more than 20,000 basic IRS forms.
Recently, John Devine, a reference librarian, was emptying a box of blank tax forms into plastic bins in the lobby. Even though the state has long offered electronic filing, he still goes through a box of 60 paper forms every couple days.
“It amazes me,” Devine said.
Some observers suspect the drive toward electronic filing could push many seniors or low-income residents who don’t own computers to turn to volunteers who help people prepare returns at libraries and community centers.
But even some of those programs favor paper. Community Tax Aid of Boston, a nonprofit that helps low-income taxpayers prepare their returns, uses paper returns at four of the five sites where it offers its services.
“We’ve discussed moving to TurboTax and probably will eventually, but then you have the problem of needing Internet access and printers,” said Michaele Morrow, a Northeastern University accounting professor who helps coordinate the Community Tax Aid program.
Neither the state nor the IRS has plans to eliminate the paper forms — at least for now. But finding the forms is going to get tougher as the tax agencies not only stop mailing them, but also deliver fewer forms to fewer libraries, community centers, and other locations.
I love a government that serves you.
“It won’t be impossible” to fill out a paper tax form, said Pitter the state revenue commissioner, “but we are going to try to keep it so you do it only if you really, really want to.”
And if you don't file they will just keep your money. Deal?
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Well, I guess we don't agree there.
Also see: Slow Saturday Special: Winslow's Tax Returns
Think he e-files?
