My annual tradition is to do my taxes while watching the Superbowl, sadly I wasn't feeling well so I literally slept through the game. From what I saw it doesn't look like I missed anything aside from Kendrick Lamar's halftime show.
But, I was sad to hold off filing my taxes until tonight. But, they got filed.
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For the (I believe) third year running, I have submitted our taxes while watching the Superbowl.
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Washington wealth tax delivers huge income to the state
This spring, after decades of discussion, the state finally imposed its first wealth-related levy. The capital gains tax, passed in 2021 and upheld by the state Supreme Court in March, taxes not extreme wealth but the machinations of it — the selling of assets, mostly stocks, in amounts that lead to profits of more than $250,000 in a year.
Estimators modeled that Washington has about 7,000 people who live in this rarefied financial air. These one-tenth percenters would book roughly $8 billion in capital gains, mostly in stock options or returns from investment funds (real estate sales are not taxed). The 7% capital gains tax would then raise $440 million in 2023, to be used for schools.
What ended up happening blew the models out of the water.
According to the state, 3,190 people have paid a total so far of $849 million — nearly twice what was expected. That reflects about $13 billion in underlying capital gains booked by these 3,000-plus people in 2022. That's fewer people than expected. But they turned out to be far richer.
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Not quite an annual tradition, but close. Last year I did our taxes while watching the Superbowl. This year, I did them today rather than during the game yesterday because we had a friend over to watch the game with us. And while I think our friend would have been amused, I couldn't bring myself to do our taxes while they were here.
I continue to wish for the end of the US Tax industry and for our government to just do it the way they should.
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"Why Can't America Do Taxes Like the Faroe Islands?"
I recently traveled to the Faroe Islands, a small, semi-autonomous part of Denmark out in the North Atlantic, for a joint reporting project for The American Prospect and the People's Policy Project. The idea was to investigate the country's tax authority, which is called TAKS. I'd heard it is the cleanest and most efficient in the world.
Even with those expectations, what I found impressed me. The Faroes haven't just set up a centralized system that automatically collects tax revenue and disburses welfare payments; they also continuously monitor all of your labor income and adjust your withholding as necessary if you lose a job or get a new one. Ordinary businesses and employees never have to even think about TAKS—no tax return is required.
Why can't we? Because we've allowed capitalism to drive taxation into an industry and as such now it holds a seat at the metaphorical table where money can be passed and made. Beyond the money that lobbyists spend to keep our tax system arcane and corrupt, we also have individuals who now make their living off of it, which further complicates the fixing of the system.
I hold out hope that we will one day make progress in this area, until then we'll look to these places - like the Faroe islands, and dream of the future possibilities.
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"Inflation Reduction Act Requires IRS To Study Free Tax Filing Options"
A very welcome bit of news as this is an area definitely in need of some correction.
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Manchin finally agrees to a bill, surprises everyone
The new compromise bill includes $430 billion in new spending on energy, electric vehicle tax credits and health insurance investments. It more than pays for itself by raising minimum taxes for big companies and enforcing existing tax laws, Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
The bill would impose a 15% minimum tax on corporations with profits over $1 billion, raising $313 billion over a decade, they wrote. Companies could claim net operating losses and tax credits against the 15%.
The U.S. corporate tax rate dropped to 21% from 35% after a 2017 tax cut pushed by then-President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans, but many companies pay much less than that, and some of the largest pay no federal taxes, research groups including the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy have found.
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ProPublica Digs into the Taxing Business world and the government squeeze to keep Americans paying to file their taxes
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Tax Software Megathread on Reddit
When it comes to paying your taxes every year, lobbyists and corporations have pushed the IRS to not make it simple. People end up paying for tax software they don't need, and the tax software companies find newer and newer ways to add fees for the "convenience" they provide.
If you make $72,000 or less annually, you DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR TAX SOFTWARE. Go to the Reddit thread, it will help you.
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