Sunday, March 15, 2009

F@%k you TurboTax

I was goofing around in Turbo Tax and decided to set up a fake dependent just to see how that changes tax liability. This is what it says in the "add a dependent" screen:

Supporting children and other family members can be expensive. We’ll help you get some of that money back by taking up to a $3,500 deduction for each dependent you claim.


Translation: Supporting children and other family members can be expensive. The government will make others in the community help pay for your children so that politicians can be sure you vote for them. Have a nice day!

I have nothing at all against children or people who have them. But having children is a personal decision, and not something that should be subsidized by the government. This is some serious BS.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Call me an old softy, but I talked on the phone with my (no longer dependent on me) daughter to night. She was subsidized by taxpapers when she was growing up, now it is my turn, to subsidize children growing up.

Feels kind of good,to pay back.

This doesn't mean I don't appreciate your point of view F.M., it just means I am an old softy.

Anonymous said...

Since I really have no interest in having kids, I think the taxpayers should provide me with a Porsche when I retire, to "pay me back" for all the money I am pouring into public schools.

Anonymous said...

My daughter, who's education was in public schools, promised me a Porsche.
Dark green, brown leather interior.

p.s. I am still waiting.

Anonymous said...

Awesome!!! Although being an animal lover I am not down with the leather interior...

Eludius said...

So why are you taking your aggression out on Turbo Tax? You're shooting the messenger!

Anonymous said...

You shouldn't shoot the messenger, but I am pretty sure that it's OK to curse out the messenger.

Zinzindor said...

I'm ambivalent about these type of deductions.

First of all, though, let's characterize this correctly.

Providing public schools *is* making "others in the community help pay for your children." Providing subsidized or free meals at schools fits into that category, as does providing public libraries. All of these things are forms of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

But it would not be correct to describe a child tax deduction as taking money from someone else. It is just taking less money away from you.

Which, on the one hand, is a good thing. I'm in favor of *anybody* being able to keep more of their money. When that's directed only at one particular group, perhaps the proper response is "Hey, cut taxes for everybody else, too."

Zinzindor
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