In the country where you don't know what you ll end up paying unless you go to the counter, because the taxes are not included, its only "logical" to not have your taxes deducted from your payslio because reasons
I ll never understand this shit, smh
this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
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I'm not sure what country you're talking about, but I assume the U.S. We do have taxes deducted from payroll, and you fill out a form telling the employer (and the IRS) what amount to deduct based on estimated income, family size, and a couple of other factors. Then in April we have to file our official tax form declaring actual income, and if we owe less than what was deducted from our paychecks we receive that back as a refund, but if we underestimated we have to pay whatever taxes are remaining. The reason that filing taxes is so complicated is the sheer volume of deductions, exemptions, credits, etc that have been piled on top of the tax code over the years (plus lobbying by the tax prep industry). It's a stupid system, but it's not as stupid as some people seem to be assuming in this thread. If you set up your withholding right, you shouldn't ever owe taxes when it's time to file.
Now, if you're self-employed or a contractor (and considered self-employed) the whole thing kind of falls apart and it's a lot easier to wind up owning a bunch of money. Like I said, it is a stupid system, just not quite as crazy as some people seem to be assuming.
To add one thing to the only reasonable comment I've seen in this thread: if you're poorer, your taxes are probably easy and straightforward. If you have money and your taxes are more complicated, you can probably afford to have someone do them for you.
I can't agree with this enough, though I think part of the problem is that it isn't what's easy to complete your W-4 accurately, there is an entire worksheet to use if you file jointly that is sorta difficult to do well, especially if both people make fairly different amounts. If you just choose the basic withholding it's very likely the bigger breadwinner isn't withholding enough and you'll end up owing about what the comic shows (at least that is my experience, as well as some friends).
I think the real problem in the US is that everyone is left to do their tax paperwork from scratch every year when the IRS could send you a personalized return prefilled that you then claim the deductions and credits you're due and account for any descrpenices (which sure, is what your W-2 is supposed to be, but it isn't really that, you still need to use the worksheets on the 1040 or pay someone/some software to do it for you; a prefilled 1040 would be a way better system).
It also doesn't account for the huge variations in state taxes. Many states have income taxes, some are reciprocal with nearby states and others aren't, the deductions and credits and even what is taxable is all different. The whole thing is a mess. Then lord help you if you live in a state with local income taxes or one where your local taxes are different than school taxes(like PA) and the whole thing is a half day exercise in frustration to complete and you're still left wondering if you did it right.
Yeah, I'm not by any means trying to say that the American system is the best way of doing things. It's definitely not, and to be honest I've never quite managed to get my state withholding right - I almost always owe a little bit (usually a hundred dollars or so). But some folks seem to have gotten some strange ideas about how bad it actually is.
Yeah, we almost always owe a tiny bit (usually less than $100, often less than $50) to the state. I don't really understand how I can get so close but still miss it every year but overpay federal taxes when it's all based on the same W-4 I give to my employer.
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If you set up your withholding right, you shouldn’t ever owe taxes when it’s time to file.
Thing is, here in Germany you don't even get to make the mistake of setting up your withholdings wrong if you're a regular employee. I don't think it's even possible to end up owing the state money if you're not self-employed or have considerable capital investments (which is rare for regular employees, which is probably its own issue ...).
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Haha, my last tax filing I owed another $40k.
My own fault for not paying taxes during the year though.
If you live in the USA then the government didnt decide to keep making it worse, the people did.
GOP wrote the last tax plan and they're about to write the new one.
This is why I don't blame the politicians. I blame the people
The people are partially to blame, but let's be real, the voting system practically guarantees voter disenfranchisement.
It's how the US has ended up with the far right, and right-lite-maybe-a-little-good-stuff-but-mostly-capitalism-status-quo party duopoly.
Blame the people who pay off the politicias and put rightwing propaganda on almost all mainstream media. Common people have to spend a LOT of effort to get even a resemblance of agency.
Funny story, the people also chose not to pursue campaign finance laws. It's been an issue on the DNC platform for 25 years, they even successfully removed the vast majority of money from politics until the Citizens United SCOTUS decision undid their work.
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How fucked are you if you don’t file?
I didn’t file last year, because I’ve been in a clusterfuck of borderline homelessness and odd jobs for the past two years. Idk if I am even able to file this year if I didn’t last?
if you're making money and don't file, it'll catch up to you. If you're poor and don't file they will make your life harder when you try to collect social services
Big part of it was the surprise illegal eviction my ex got to do when he wanted to move in his prostitute (cops in OK don’t give a shit about your rights if your trans lol). Navigating the divorce system with no money, all the paper work that I have no idea if survived the parents guest room -> friends couch -> apartment.
There aren’t social services here anyway at least lol
I wish you the best, friend. Maybe when you get your feet under you, the land should be a different place? Washington State will treat you much differently but you would have to deal with the weather change...
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If Americans want a proper country, yall better get used to paying 40% taxes like in Europe muhahahahah!!!
Ok, some parts of Europe..
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