Taxed 2 Debt!

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.

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Tags: Debt and Taxes

1 Comment to Whats in a name?

1. [...] What’s In A Name is a post that describes why we’re here–what we’re about. [...]
Taxed 2 Debt, A Review: | Taxed 2 Debt! on November 11th, 2009

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