Tax return is nearly $3000 LESS because I worked part-time last year!

[williamson_ja]

Isn't also enjoyable for you to work?

That alone seems like a big factor in doing what you do.

If it caused financial strain on your household, I could see stopping.

The enrichment of being employed in something that you enjoy is worth a lot!

I love my job. It's just better when you actually get paid for working. lol. I teach show choir to underprivileged kids in our after school program. I get to expose them to things they would never get at home. They are learning to love music. We are going to perform throughout the community and have a big parents night program. It really is great.

 

[brerrabbit]

I have no problem with every person in the country taking every legal credit, deduction, and allowance provided for by our tax laws. As far as whether working or not working and making enough to push you out of earning EIC is a decsion each family needs to make on their own and at that income level realistically running a pro forma tax return and looking at what additional amounts of income does to your return is a relatively simple process that everyone should do several times a year to see where they are in order to increase or decrease withholding.

My problem is with a tax code and the legislators that have created that tax code that allows people to earn more by not working. Congress seems to feel that if they want to incent spending, saving, investment, home buying, or any other behavior of the American people all they have to do is tweak the tax laws around and viola! Behaviors change. In so doing they have created the most backwards, burdensome, non understandable tax system in the world. We are in so deep we can't change it if we want to. Flat tax? No way think of the unemployment it would cause just from the number of IRS agents, tax preparers, tax software companies and tax attorney's it would put out of business. This is the monster they have created and it will go unchanged for some time because we passed the point of no return long ago. So until something does change I would encourage every taxpayer in the country to capitalize on the system as much as possible until someone in Washington wakes up.

 

[MrsPete]

I have no problem with every person in the country taking every legal credit, deduction, and allowance provided for by our tax laws. As far as whether working or not working and making enough to push you out of earning EIC is a decsion each family needs to make on their own and at that income level realistically running a pro forma tax return and looking at what additional amounts of income does to your return is a relatively simple process that everyone should do several times a year to see where they are in order to increase or decrease withholding.

My problem is with a tax code and the legislators that have created that tax code that allows people to earn more by not working. Congress seems to feel that if they want to incent spending, saving, investment, home buying, or any other behavior of the American people all they have to do is tweak the tax laws around and viola! Behaviors change. In so doing they have created the most backwards, burdensome, non understandable tax system in the world. We are in so deep we can't change it if we want to. Flat tax? No way think of the unemployment it would cause just from the number of IRS agents, tax preparers, tax software companies and tax attorney's it would put out of business. This is the monster they have created and it will go unchanged for some time because we passed the point of no return long ago. So until something does change I would encourage every taxpayer in the country to capitalize on the system as much as possible until someone in Washington wakes up.

I agree -- except for the part about the flat tax being un-doable. In attempting to "help", they've made things worse. Big government always does.

 

[S. C.]

So obviously we can't afford all of the freebies that some people here think we as US citizens are entitled to at the current revenue.. So whats the end game? Keep raising taxes and killing the middle class? Raising corporate taxes and killing more jobs?

When you shop do you always try to buy US made products?

 

[CloveLeaf]

I was a sinle parent, put myself through nursing school, working to support the family. I never got EIC, not sure why, as I know it existed. In fact I still paid federal and state taxes.

I know a lot of people who qualify for EIC. They feel as if they 'deserve it'. I am not arguing that point either way. I can see a family getting every penny returned from their with holdings, if they have a low income and qualify, but I pay taxes in the 25% range, with my house loan and only make 70K a year. This year I am only getting 20% returned, vs one family I know who paid in approximate what I am getting back, in, but they are getting a return of 11K!!

Gz, someone is getting a return of $11K and this is not because they withheld too much tax??? This is beyond my imagination.