Paying tribute to Caesar is annual exercise in pain and confusion Date: 4/2/2019 No one likes paying taxes, right? Some people understand that paying taxes means helping to underwrite many aspects of our way of life. Others see it as a necessary evil. Still others fight and rail actively against them.
I try to understand why we must shoulder our fair load, but I will readily admit I don’t think that our current system is exactly fair. Of course that’s my reaction after getting my taxes done last week.
I was told by the preparer that I hadn’t taken enough out of each paycheck and I was now being penalized – apparently a new part of the revised legislation – for not, as he put it, “paying my taxes on time.”
I said that I am paying my taxes on time and the Trump Administration will get my check on time for the remainder.
No, because I still owe money, I’m “late,” came the clarification.
It’s not good to swear at the guy doing your taxes, especially when his supervisor comes up to you and compliments “The Reminder.” I put on the happiest face I could muster.
I was advised that taking out money from my check at the current highest rate isn’t enough to satisfy the new tax rates. I now must take out more.
This is what confuses me: isn’t the traditional philosophy of the Republican Party one of fiscal conservatism, which would include lower deficits and tax rates? Isn’t the idea I’ve heard most of my life that the Republicans want to spend less money and decrease taxation?
Do I have that wrong? How does the new tax law fit with that idea?
There have been people who have spoken of the need for a complete re-tooling of our tax laws. Some people believe a simple flat tax would do it, while others support the FAIR Tax proposal that would institute a national sales tax that would eliminate the income tax.
There are pros and cons to each of these ideas. The trouble is both of these concepts would represent a radical re-tooling of how we pay and collect taxes. It would even change how we think about taxes.
In a more perfect world, our lawmakers would realize the current system is far from ideal and would want to change it. This is not that “perfect” world.
In the meantime, I have to take out more money from my check. For someone who is not in an upper tax bracket I’m not sure how the new system is benefiting me.
Welcome aboard
As I mentioned last week, this is the week of our new Chicopee Herald and home delivery in the second largest community west of Worcester.
I hope if you’re new to our newspaper – any of our three editions – you will find it of interest and value with local news and advertisers.
For folks who may not have seen our newspapers before, please allow me to share the following information:
If you are a member of an organization and wish to send us items for our Town Events page, please email me them two weeks before they are happening to news@thereminder.com.
If you have interesting photos of events to which we were not able to attend, please send those to the same email address. The photos should be in focus and should be well lit enough to see the faces of the subjects. We cannot fix focus and only adjust lighting through Photoshop.
Letters to the editor are encouraged. They should be sent to the above email and must be limited to 500 words.
If you think you have an interesting story, I’m happy to hear it. Again, email me. The story may be more appropriate for Go Local or Prime, our two monthly publications and I will forward them to others members of my staff.
If you have sent something to me and want to make sure I’ve received it, feel free to call me at 525-6661 ext. 103. Please be aware, I’m frequently out of the office covering a story.
I’m happy to have a very professional staff, but it’s a small one. All of us try very hard to respond as quickly as possible to messages from readers.
Again, if our newspapers are new to you, I hope you will enjoy them.
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