Taxed 2 Debt!

A Tax-Free Quote

“Republicans believe that everyday is the 4th of July but Democrats believe that everyday is April 15th.”

–Ronald Regan

Tags: quotes

Calling Dr. Pepper

There is a proposed soda tax out there, some editions of the health bill has it.  Most of the plans out there will raise the price of soda 45 percent.

Here’s my question: is this about a true concern for the children of America?  Because, to be honest and practical, these people should be focused on feeding the kids by not taxing small business owners to debt.  When innovative people are freed of the current tax burden, they’ll be able to start up more companies and more jobs.  Once every kid is fed by private individuals, then any politician is welcome to go door to door ride a peace rainbow and give out pamphlets telling them not to eat things.

There’s not even a Surgeon General’s warning on soda.  Most juices have sugar amounts comparable to soda.  What about Kool-Aid, Tang, Hi-C, Gatorade, Beer?  That’s right I said Tang.  You best keep your taxes off my Blue Bell. This is a tax on the middle class, something we were promised would not occur in the next four years.  It’s a lie and a tax.  A lax.

Tags: sin tax, Taxation

The Burden of Biden

Even before this swing to the left, even before the bailouts, tarp funds, government takeover and government office expansions, taxes were already a problem. 

The word, taxes, is cringe worthy.  Taxes, did you say Texas?  Tacos?  No, Taxes.  I’ve yet to see a face shine in jubilation when taxes are brought up in conversation.  There’s no Hallmark aisle specifically set aside for your personal IRS Tax Man. 

The word tax is usually coupled with the word death.  They’re both guarantees.  If your favorite dog died, and a friend attempted to comfort you, they may say: “Well, death and taxes, that’s all we’re allotted here in life.”  But does that matter to Donald the Dachshund, you ask yourself. You’d like to ask Donald, but he’s dead.  And you may forget about the deep philosophical question till later, when you’re buying his headstone, and you pay a sales tax on it. 

The natural inclination is to get angry.  Your money isn’t even yours; it’s already owed to some organization that you only see face to face at the post office.  And you’ve never had good things to say about those people.  The next logical step would be to stop paying taxes.  Let those W-2′s pile up on your desk, forget about the Tax Season stress, they can shove their deadlines and payments due notices.  Donald is dead, that’s all that matters. 

But, not too much later you find that they have a special little place for you and others who’ve decided not to participate in their half of the great guarantee.  It’s a nice little jail cell where you will share toilet rights with other men whose names mostly consist of verbs. 

And that’s when a basic principle hits you: all taxes aren’t bad–over taxation is the real problem. 

If you bring up the burden of taxation to far left liberals, they’ll scoff.  You’re keeping too much money as it is–you live in this country and you owe it your all, they’ll say.  The same has been said by this generation’s current politicians: Joe Biden was noted to have said that it’s patriotic to pay more taxes.  Biden must have read a different history book on the Revolutionary War.

The premise of this blog is simple.  Small businesses are being smothered and forced into debt.  We’ll be sharing some data with you in the near future.  In the end, we think it’s a strong testament as to what needs to change in our country.  A less burdened people produce more goods.

Whats in a name?

Taxed 2 Debt…..Obviously a play on words.

Two things inevitable in life….death and taxes. Death and Taxes? Seriously….These two words are coined together in a common well known phrase? Wow. What a fun time!

So why the name Taxed 2 Debt? Well, this goes back to frustration. The frustration of being taxed on every aspect of life. The list can go on, and will go on later….keep checking back, but the little play on words came together at a greasy fast-food restaurant one night deep in the heart of Texas (or should I say deep in the heart of TAXES). The name just came flying out. Of course, there were extenuating circumstances. Again, being self employed, many of the little taxes that others do not see would end up in my mail box every now and then. Of course there were the ‘usuals’…..income tax, payroll tax, sales tax, gas tax, property tax, motor vehicle tax. But it was the not so obvious ones that were really getting to me. The personal property tax on the items in my office…the office I pay property tax on because I ‘own’ it and the items that i ALREADY paid sales tax on and gas tax transporting them to my office. Another was the take off and landing fees (another word for tax) on an airplane ride I took which was advertised as $79 one way….before you read the fine print. The list kept going and going. The frustration kept building. Being self employed, and a real estate broker for that matter, the paychecks would be sporadic at best. Three closings one month and then none for the next month. It can be a roller coaster ride when you rely on yourself to make your way financially. No paid vacations or health benefits. No Friday auto deposit into my bank account. Basically, some good months and some bad. Needless to say, the income would sit in savings for as long as possible, until it was needed to pay the house payment or the medical insurance payment or the car payment or the quarterly tax payment or the grocery bill or the tax bill or you name the cost of living that cannot be avoided. It would keep coming each month although the income may or may not be there. Eventually, it caught up to me. BAM…….the property tax payment due….then the income tax payment due…..then the investment property tax bill due…..it just kept hitting me. Savings depleted….checking depleted….investment account depleted. So, where was Uncle Sam going to get his money? TaDa…..0% interest for 12 months!! Yeah…..interest free! I can pay my income tax without the huge penalties and interest that IRS will charge…..Done….the little convenience check hits the account for the maximum credit limit available. But make sure to pay this off and don’t be late because 21% interest is painful. Well, let me just tell you, 12 months goes by fast and here we are again. No frivolous spending. No running up high credit card balances on crazy unnecessary purchases. Not trips to Hawaii. No new investments. Just more taxes due….and now a CREDIT CARD balance. Ouch. So, now I am in debt and still in the same place I was in 12 months ago. What made it worse…the more money I made….the more taxes I paid. When would it end? My options….well bankruptcy sometimes crept into my head. But was it the credit card companies fault? No. So, in order to truly take responsibility for myself and not rely on the government……..I sold my home. Luckily, the equity was there. The money I made on my house…..went to pay taxes. Not only taxes due the current year, but also the debt from the taxes the previous year. It became a vicious circle. One that, if I had to bet, probably does not only effect me, but many small business owners out there. I just could not get ahead. I just could not count on savings to remain. I know some may ask, why not get a job with consistent income or why not set aside money each month for taxes. Well, the money I was making was more than I would have made in and 8-5 desk job. And, the money was set aside. But the roller coaster of life and the inevitable tax burdens took a toll. It was never enough.

So as we sat at this little fast food joint in Texas, an idea was born…..and instead of being taxed to death at my age….i was being taxed to debt. Taxes and debt and death. For most, three inevitable aspects each will deal with at some point in life.

From that conversation that night, an idea  was created. Stay tuned to these postings which will eventually lead up to an eye opening research project. We look forward to sharing this with you in the near future.

For now, the show must go on. The taxes will be paid. So will the credit card debt….even if I have to live out of an RV. I will pay my bills. I will sleep at night knowing that fact. But the real problem, the deep problem exists. This goes beyond the frustration. This develops the frustration. Why and how did we as a free and independent country and union of states get into this mess? Who is really to blame? How can we get out of this mess? Who will get us out of it? When will the barrage of new taxes stop? From the sounds of things, they will get much worse. Maybe there is something we can do. A solution we can offer. More likely, it will be a standing up for ourselves and demanding that the recklessness going on in D.C. end. And, don’t forget your state and local government. They are as much to blame for what is happening. When my property tax rates are lowered, yet my tax appraisal is raised so dramatically that my taxes increase, we have problems. And I live in a republican/conservative county.

The taxing must end. The waste must stop. Someone has to get this under control before it is too late.

Tags: Debt and Taxes

The Sin of Sin Taxes

Katherine Magnu-Ward, editor of Reason magazine, has an editorial in this Sunday’s Washington Post, describing the benefits of sin taxes.

Katherine, in arguing for sin taxes, states what we all know: sin taxes do not change behavior.  She not only argues that this doesn’t matter, but that it’s good for us to pay more for “harmful” things.

“But even the most avid proponents of sin taxes concede that none of the nickel-and-dime proposals on the table is large enough to discourage soda drinking. And they’re not really intended to. Soda taxes, like most sin taxes, aren’t primarily designed to reduce consumption — they’re designed to raise revenue.”

Yes Kathy, “nickel and dime” was probably used to justify the Sugar Act right before the revolution.

Taxes disguised as behavior modification are set in place strictly for revenue.  Their kept in place because usually no one’s willing to get angry about taxes on cigarettes, beer, and now the possible coke.

But where does it stop?  Who gets to label the sin in our lives?

Lying is sinful, I know that.  Can we, as the American people, propose a lying tax every time a politician doesn’t tell the truth?  That’s the kind of behavior modification that’s most needed, a hope for honesty.  They’d fund Medicaid and space exploration in the first week.

So, if the public is to have a sin tax, how about we send the idea back to the politicians.  You can tell us how to live by taking our money, if you do the same.  Fair is fair.

Tags: sin tax

A Ficticious Memo

A fictitious memo from the current administration:

Fellow Citizens,

As you know we’ve had one of the largest ever declines in revenue that this country has ever seen.  People are jobless, steeped to the gills in debt, and about to lose their homes if they already have not done so.

And in order to get you all through these tough times, I have been charged with giving you all a plan to keep your nose above water until things improve. Now I’ve studied much paperwork on this, and have run some numbers on my government issued abacus.

If you’re facing financial difficulties the answer is a simple one: spend everything you have.  In fact, take a sheet of paper, draw a circle with two eyes and a happy smile, and then write next to that circle headed baby: “Great Grandchild.”  After you spend all you have, I want you to spend that baby’s money.

Always wanted that Hummer?  Take out a third mortgage.

Never let a crisis slip past you.  Now that you’re jobless and having difficulties paying the light bill, it’s time for that in-ground pool the kids have always wanted.  Go ahead, splurge.  You need a stimulus like the ‘restofus’.  Say it again—stimulus like the restofus.

Spend it—spend it all.  If you have coins in your coffee can, cash them in.  If you have gold in your teeth, melt it out.  If you have available credit, swipe the card.

It’s truly the only way out of this mess.  Spend that baby’s college fund.

Sincerely,

A Lack of Common Sense

More introductory thoughts

One thing that is important to remember when reading this site is that we only support peaceful options, ideas and resolutions. If we do not stand up and attempt to make a difference and attempt to submit resolutions, how can we complain about what is going on in the government? Voting is the first way, but there are other ways as well. Those other ways will be discussed and tossed around here. Feel free to comment with suggestions and ideas for the site. Reader participation is welcome.

Tags: Peacful Tax Protests

Day 1

So here I am…not a writer or blogger or activist or anything..Just a citizen of the Republic of the United States of America. I am not eloquent or brilliant. I am not a wacko or “right wing activist”. I am just a simple small business owner who cannot seem to get ahead in the world. Over the last few years, I have tried to get to the bottom of it….tried to discover where I am going wrong….tried to cut my spending…tried to come up with new ideas…just tried to live the American dream and make a comfortable life for my family. And where has that got me? Well that will all be explained over the next few posts. I will spill my life for the world to see. But, for now, I can tell you that one word describes my feelings and gets worse every day…that word is FRUSTRATION. I hope that maybe one person will overlook my poor grammar…my poor spelling…and my random thoughts and be able to contribute/learn/toss around ideas and hopefully contribute to REAL CHANGE in our system. We shall see what happens….

Tags: Tax and Government Frustration