Happy Tax Day!
OK, I am not sure why anyone would have a happy tax day.
(other personality) But I am getting a refund!
No. You aren’t. While it may be true that you are going to receive some money from the government, it was your money in the beginning. Remember that whole paycheck minus taxes thing? Besides, the government NEEDS your money with that 9 trillion dollar debt issue looming over their heads. Government accountants everywhere are drooling as they wait for that fat amount of money to help balance out the inflating cost of goods.
Paying your taxes is not nearly as exciting as swimming naked in the shark tank, and is about as complicated as swimming with concrete shoes. But we still have to pay them. Because it is the law…actually it is the 16th amendment. Why we agreed to do this is beyond me. Of course, we haven’t always paid income taxes in the United States.
It wasn’t until the civil war that Americans has imposed on them income tax. This tax lasted from 1861 to 1872 and was 3% on any income over $800.
The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1912. The tax rate was 1% on net income over $3,000, and 7% on incomes above $500,000. This makes sense to me.
It is World War I tat caused our tax rate to rise to the levels we would even shy away from: 77% for the rich. This dropped back to 25% after the war ended.
World War II again saw a bump in the tax rate to (get this) 91%. The rich paid this until 1964 when I guess they finally paid off enough Senators to have the rate drop back down to 70% and then to 50% in 1981.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced the top rate to 28%, at the same time raising the bottom rate from 11% to 15% (in fact 15% and 28% became the only two tax brackets).
During the 1990s the top rate rose again, standing at 39.6% by the end of the decade.
The top rate was cut to 35% and the bottom rate was cut to 10% by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA).
This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). I pay my taxes! There is a large misconception that the money Native Americans make is not taxed and is spent on peyote and stuffed into the peace pipes. Well, I am here to inform you, that is wrong (on more than one stereotype.
First, we don’t pay for peyote.
Second, we are required by law to pay our taxes, whether we are on the reservation or off. Granted, the income of most Native Americans is well below the poverty line. It is also believed that Natives are entitled to free housing and are given land. Well, I pay a rather large mortgage on my house.
What about state taxes you say? Well, here is how this works, If you live on a reservation, you do not have to pay state income tax in most states. However, you do have to pay tribal income tax. The non-Natives do not have the same requirement. You see the non-Native businesses and non-Natives living within the reservation borders don’t pay taxes to the tribes. That money goes to local and state governments. Therefore, it is the non-Natives on reservations that receive services without having to pay for them.
Lastly, I don’t smoke. It will kill you. And you know the only things that are definite…Death and Taxes.
Did you know…
Richard Hatch, winner of the first "Survivor" reality series, has been charged with tax evasion for failing to report his $1,000,000 prize.
(other personality) But I am getting a refund!
No. You aren’t. While it may be true that you are going to receive some money from the government, it was your money in the beginning. Remember that whole paycheck minus taxes thing? Besides, the government NEEDS your money with that 9 trillion dollar debt issue looming over their heads. Government accountants everywhere are drooling as they wait for that fat amount of money to help balance out the inflating cost of goods.
Paying your taxes is not nearly as exciting as swimming naked in the shark tank, and is about as complicated as swimming with concrete shoes. But we still have to pay them. Because it is the law…actually it is the 16th amendment. Why we agreed to do this is beyond me. Of course, we haven’t always paid income taxes in the United States.
It wasn’t until the civil war that Americans has imposed on them income tax. This tax lasted from 1861 to 1872 and was 3% on any income over $800.
The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1912. The tax rate was 1% on net income over $3,000, and 7% on incomes above $500,000. This makes sense to me.
It is World War I tat caused our tax rate to rise to the levels we would even shy away from: 77% for the rich. This dropped back to 25% after the war ended.
World War II again saw a bump in the tax rate to (get this) 91%. The rich paid this until 1964 when I guess they finally paid off enough Senators to have the rate drop back down to 70% and then to 50% in 1981.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced the top rate to 28%, at the same time raising the bottom rate from 11% to 15% (in fact 15% and 28% became the only two tax brackets).
During the 1990s the top rate rose again, standing at 39.6% by the end of the decade.
The top rate was cut to 35% and the bottom rate was cut to 10% by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA).
This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). I pay my taxes! There is a large misconception that the money Native Americans make is not taxed and is spent on peyote and stuffed into the peace pipes. Well, I am here to inform you, that is wrong (on more than one stereotype.
First, we don’t pay for peyote.
Second, we are required by law to pay our taxes, whether we are on the reservation or off. Granted, the income of most Native Americans is well below the poverty line. It is also believed that Natives are entitled to free housing and are given land. Well, I pay a rather large mortgage on my house.
What about state taxes you say? Well, here is how this works, If you live on a reservation, you do not have to pay state income tax in most states. However, you do have to pay tribal income tax. The non-Natives do not have the same requirement. You see the non-Native businesses and non-Natives living within the reservation borders don’t pay taxes to the tribes. That money goes to local and state governments. Therefore, it is the non-Natives on reservations that receive services without having to pay for them.
Lastly, I don’t smoke. It will kill you. And you know the only things that are definite…Death and Taxes.
Did you know…
Richard Hatch, winner of the first "Survivor" reality series, has been charged with tax evasion for failing to report his $1,000,000 prize.
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