Tax Guru-Ker$tetter Letter
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
While it's a great idea, there is no chance that our rulers will agree with this idea of eliminating tax withholdings and requiring people to actually write checks for their taxes. That would let too many people understand exactly how much they are paying and possibly cause them to rebel against higher taxes. This scam has been extremely effective in confusing most people as to their actual tax burden. As long as they receive a refund when they file their 1040s, they think they are coming out ahead.
My prediction is that, instead of reducing or eliminating withholdings, we will be seeing more types of transactions subject to it, such as sales of stocks and real estate (which are already required for some sellers).
KMK