Taxes

Introduction

In 1958, a horror movie called Macabre was released. William Castle, the guy who created the film, had women in nurse's outfits walk around the theater in case anyone passed out. He also guaranteed...

Why Tax?

It's something only a government could think up: you work hard all day for your boss and then, at the end of the week, the government grabs a hefty portion of your paycheck for taxes. If you're the...

Why Should I Care?

Maybe you don't have to file taxes because you're not working full-time or your part-time job doesn't earn enough to make the U.S. government interested in you (yet). But you're not off the hook.He...

Philosophy of Tax: Adam Smith

Pretty much everybody in the U.S. has to pay taxes and pretty much everybody in the U.S. complains about it. Who should we blame? A guy named Adam Smith.The whole philosophy of taxes in our country...

The Purpose of Taxes

Why can't the United States government just get a job like everyone else? Why does it have to dig into your pockets? You already go to school, lead a very busy social life, and still find time to p...

Case Studies in Taxes

Who do taxes hurt and who do they help? Come tax time, everyone's feeling the pinch, but let's take a look at three case studies to see how IRS rules can actually affect tax payers.Victim #1: Frank...

Types of Taxes

There's a tax for almost every occasion—the IRS is just considerate like that. Let's take a peek.Income TaxEarning money by working hard? Outstanding. The government wants to make your 40-hour-wo...

Types of Income Taxes

It's payday.Wait, let's start over.It's payday!You get to grab that big check (or, uh, see it automatically deposited in your bank account) and go to show it off to your pet iguana.Hang on. Is ther...

Federal vs. State Taxes

Both the state and the federal government are taxing you, so…double the fun!But what does the state do with your cash? And why are two governments suddenly interested in how much you earn?If you...

Filing Taxes

Whether or not you need to file a tax return depends on a few things:Your gross income (the total amount you made from your job, selling stuff, and cleaning your neighbor's gutters last summer)Your...

State and Local Taxes

Municipal (local) and state taxes include the following:Sales taxIncome tax (withheld from your paycheck so you can't spend it)Property tax  The amount of taxes you pay and even the types of...

Fairness

The very fact that you have to pay taxes at all might seem unfair. After all, you work really hard all week, so why should the government get any of the money? Let them find their own, arewerite?Ev...

Mortgage from a Tax Perspective

Your parents probably complain about their mortgage a lot. And guess what? They're not alone.Quite simply, a mortgage is a loan that people use to buy a house. Let's say that your parents found a c...

Federal vs. State Budgets

You pay for some stuff; your parents pay for others.That's not all that different from how the state and federal budgets work.Who Pays for What?How do we know whether the feds or the state governme...

Taxes and Retirement

"The only thing you should ever re-tire is your car." - Irving P. Siminoff, 2003Let's say you (reluctantly) accept that while you're working, the government can take some of your taxes so that...

Taxes and Revenues

When taxes are too much for you…too bad.But there is actually a point at which even the government thinks enough is enough. The tipping point happens when people start to react in a way that"s no...