April Means Taxes

April.  Tax time.  April 15th, today – is it.  Blargh.

I can honestly say I have never met anyone who expressed to me their happiness to pay taxes.  Most people complain about taxes, about the government charging them taxes, so on and etc.  Most people are also thrilled to receive a tax refund.  I often point out that this is not free money, which most people this it is, it’s simply the government returning the money you loaned them.  A no-interest loan.

At this point, people roll their eyes and smile.

Sigh.

I’ve mentioned before, and feel it bears repeating on this – Tax Day in America – that most people in this country don’t have a clue how much money they actually pay in taxes.  They see the deductions in their paycheck and think that’s it.  They don’t think about the tax on the gas they buy, or the groceries, or the Starbucks latte – the list goes on and on.  And it adds up.

I really want to add it up for myself.  I tried it once or twice before, but, as things tend to go, I get distracted or don’t have time, and suddenly have a billion receipts to go through and who wants to mess with that?

Maybe next year…