Abolish payroll taxing by the Feds?

[rahvin]

You really need payroll taxing to prevent idiots from ending up with no money at the end of the year to pay their taxes. Over half this country spends every dime they get in their paychecks, if you made them responsible to pay taxes at the end of the year we would be imprisoning half our population for tax evasion because they simply cannot save. A lot of people overwithold and give the government a big loan over the year so they can get a big return, because it's the only way they can save.

BTW (Micheal correct me if I'm wrong) you can kick your W4 deductions up to like 15 or 22 or something (entirely up to you) and pay no taxes and then make quarterly estimated tax payments on your own (otherwise you will penalized).

 

[Michael]

rahvin - Sorry, my US tax knowledge is somewhat limited (Canadian Chartered Accountant even if I do live in the US). I know the rules that specifically apply to my situation fairly well, but it stops there. I could have sworn that the W-4 forms have some statement that you swear the info above is true and it has your signature on it, so you may be breaking to law by claiming more exemptions than you should be, even if you make your estimated tax payments.

I like paying the taxes as they become due, it makes budgeting easier.

Michael

 

[Dameon]

** found the official answer, looks like I need to call my Senator and Congressman (and re-run that W4 for this year whether I like it or not**

If you haven't paid your taxes or paid too little during the year, the IRS will charge interest on the money it decides you should have sent in earlier. The interest is compounded daily and begins on the day the taxes were due and continues until the agency gets the money. The interest rate is variable, based on the federal short-term rate plus 3 percent, and is recalculated every three months. For the last few years, the interest charged on underpayments has ranged from 7 percent to 10 percent.

In addition to the interest charged on unpaid taxes, the IRS also can hit you with a penalty if it decides you were really bad. There is a late payment charge of 0.5 percent of the tax owned for each month -- or any part of it -- that your tax is unpaid after its due date. This penalty can increase up to 25 percent and can increase in 1 percent increments if you don't pay after getting several notices from the IRS.

There is a $500 civil penalty for underpayment of withholding if you claim W-4 allowances you knew you weren't entitled to and those allowances reduced the tax taken out of your pay.

And you could face criminal charges if you enter false W-4 information. This charge also applies if you fail to change your W-4 when necessary to appropriately increase your withholding. If convicted, you could be fined as much as $1,000, be jailed for up to one year, or both.

These penalties apply to intentional falsification of a W-4 in an attempt to reduce or eliminate withholding taxes. If you make a simple error -- an honest mistake ? you won't face prosecution. For example, a person who has tried to figure the number of withholding allowances correctly, but claims seven when the proper number is six, will not be charged.


Source: BankRate.com

 

[Dameon]

Turns out my local congressman RON PAUL is already on the job!
He submitted the Cost of Government Awareness Act of 2000 last session!
H. R. 4855 is avaiable here.

Please urge your Congressmen to support this legislation. It is our money, we are being denied the right to hold onto to it as long as possible. We are being tried, convicted, and punished for tax evasion before even engaging in it by allowing the IRS to garnish our wages through withholding taxes. End it now.

 

[kranky]

Good for you that you have Ron Paul representing you. He's long been an opponent of the income tax and big government, and is one of the few who speak out often against government waste. Few Congressmen have remained principled over a long time and he's one of them. A great example of how well you can turn out being born and raised in Pittsburgh.