Unicorn (Unicorn@Indenial.com)
Sun, 28 Mar 1999 08:21:16 -0500
"Some Tax Facts"
The Gettysburg address is 269 words, the Declaration
of Independence is 1,337 words, and the Holy Bible is
only 773,000 [I don't know what version the author was
referring to] words. However, the tax law has grown from
11,400 words in 1913, to 7 million words today.
There are at least 480 different tax forms, each with
many pages of instructions.
Even the easiest form, the 1040E has 33 pages in
instructions, and all in fine print.
The IRS sends out 8 billion pages of forms and
instructions each year. Laid end to end, they would
stretch 28 times around the earth.
Nearly 300,000 trees are cut down yearly to produce
the paper for all the IRS forms and instructions.
American taxpayers spend $200 billion and 5.4 billion
hours working to comply with federal taxes each year,
more than it takes to produce every car, truck, and
van in the United States.
The IRS employs 114,000 people; that's twice as
many as the CIA and five times more than the FBI.
60% of taxpayers must hire a professional to get
through their own return.
Taxes eat up 38.2% of the average family's income;
that's more than for food, clothing and shelter combined.
Scary, isn't it? - LadyHawke
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"Talks About Taxes"
This year in the US, there were 7 different ways
to file your income taxes. Unfortunately, all of
them were wrong.
One old adage says the only things certain in
life are death & taxes, Unfortunately though,
they don't come in that order.
Seems to me the only possible fair tax structure
is one that allows everyone to cheat evenly.
With the quality of education declining in the US,
and even colleges turning out semi-literate idiots, I
understand the IRS is considering a new simplified
tax form where all you have to do is color it in.
The best things in life are free, but sooner or later
the government will find a way to tax them.
The income tax has made more liars out of the
American people than golf has.
There is nothing more permanent than a temporary tax.
Your check is called "Take Home Pay" because that's
the only place you can afford to go with it after all the
taxes are taken out.
When I look at my pay stub (with all those tax
deductions) and then look at my pay check, I wish
they would let me cash my pay stub.
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