The Tax Man Cometh

It's that time of year again, when Americans are all aflutter about taxes. Some people love tax season because it means a nice size check in the mail, while others loath it because it means they must part with money they had become attached to. So why is it that people in other countries, don't seem to share this  experience of tax related elation or dread. Let's chat about it.

Music by Mound City by Coleman Hawkins (recorded 1929)

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This podcast is recorded in a style that pays homage to talents like Miss Monitor (Tedi Thurman) and explores topics designed to stimulate conversations. 

Transcript

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Do Americans all denounce their citizenship status, become nationals, buy boats, and go live in international waters where cries of no taxation without representation can ring out on the open seas. Doesn't sound too bad to me, though I don't believe Amazon delivers. My name is the lovely Ray, and I was born and raised in the US. I currently have the opportunity to speak with people from all over the world. Regular people, just like you. And I'm always fascinated by our cultural differences and similarities. This podcast is voicing the style of the Sultray Soundy 1955 Weather Girl. It is a collection of thoughts inspired by my global conversations and aims to invite you to have those hard conversations out loud and with others. Thanks for stopping by darlings. I love to chat. Welcome back, darlings. She works hard for her money, and perhaps so do you. It's that time of year again when Americans who've been hard at work are working hard on their taxes. For me, it's a bittersweet process. Ever since I went rogue and decided to fly solo, doing taxes hasn't just been about seeing what I owe the government, but rather seeing what I owe myself. Money spent on stockings and sumptuous fabrics. That's money well spent on tools for my trade. Money spent on driving from one state to the next, or editing software that I never use or even yoga certification training that I never completed. Workout equipment that I just had to have, but currently sits to the side collecting dust. Well, these purchases leave me with many thoughts, some of them loosely defined as regrets. Being so eager to buy something that would make all the difference, that would solve all the problems that would be the piece de resistance to this body of work I call life. Nothing like combing through a year's worth of transactions, the ins and outs, the comings and goings to make you think about where your values have laid the past three hundred and sixty five days. I love seeing evidence of positive change. It gives me a thrill, which I believe is rightfully deserved since tax time can be filled with a sense of dread. You see, I may be a freelancer, but I don't love the idea of owing anyone. As long as you owe someone, then you are owned by that someone. My ancestors and the ancestors of many Americans fought long and hard to end slavery more than a century ago, and I for one prefer to be the master of my domain. With that being said, I, like many folks who live in the USA, seem to be a slave not just to the federal government in the form of taxes, but also to the credit card companies and even the bank that issued the car loan. I don't own a home, and though the security of home ownership is something valued in this country, how secure are you if that home isn't paid off? Debt and the process of owing someone is a large part of American culture, which as the most powerful country in the world, why is it that its citizens seem powerless against the cycle of debt of ownership, constantly trading status? Even those who are debt-free aren't truly free, especially if they have bought into subscription culture, which is currently all the craze. Despite reports that subscription fatigue has caused many streaming platforms to consolidate in order to survive, and for other businesses to expand what is included in the subscription in order to retain and attract customers. Fact is that Americans are willingly and eagerly buying into an idea that it is better to owe than to own. Not that different from Ronald Reagan's policy that it was better for the country to run up debt in order to outspend the Russians than to be seen as less than. I wonder how many subscriptions I have, how many agreements I have made giving away ownership, agreeing to be owned in order to either not be seen as less than, or in order to have what I feel I need to survive. I own my domain name and need my web host to allow me to spread this delightful little podcast all created by me, birthed from this body, and yet if I don't make payments on the domain name or the platform, I risk losing ownership. My house of love is just as secure as the homeowner with a mortgage. With forty percent of Americans owning their homes free and clear, everyone still has to pay property taxes. Living off grid in a house you built on land you own in a tax free state does not mean you do not owe the country you live in. Speaking of ownership, I'm curious to see whether the White House ballroom will be allowed to be completed given that even the precedent does not own the White House, and the money used for this gaudy project is courtesy of donations from businesses that may feel they owed him or may see as him owing them. Trump does not own the White House any more than the Netflix subscription holder owns the movies they have saved or the Amazon Prime member owns the movie that they've purchased. It's interesting to see news stories where shop owners are seeing an uptick in sales from people who simply want to own a copy of a movie they like or even music. I remember growing up and eagerly thumbing through the CD booklet that came with the disc, studying the photos, fingering the lyrics, being ever so careful not to scratch the shiny disc, as such damage could render me the owner of a useless object and sever my relationship with the audio contents it holds. I remember feeling grateful that these artists who owed me the fan nothing felt compelled to share with me their thoughts and dreams. For many, tax time is a time to rejoice as the government owes them money. Visions of a tax refund dance in some heads as early as January. Plans on what to spend that money on, money that feels like a reward for hard work. A bonus, if you will. Yet I've never understood this. The money was earned by that hardworking individual to begin with. So if one has overpaid the government and in return received a big refund, then that isn't a bonus. It's not money on top of one one has already earned, just a mere calculation reflecting what portion of those earnings that individual should be allowed to keep. When talking to friends in China and Japan, they find it strange that the process of filing taxes is both complex and a source of stress for many Americans. This, of course, brings me back to the enigma that is Congress, government contracts, and technology. The government has contracts with AI companies and can use facial recognition to allow ICE to identify protesters and potential illegal immigrants in a matter of minutes. But there appears to have been zero effort in incentivizing a company to use technology to automate tax filing. Think about it. If you live in the United States and you are employed, then you go to your employer and fill out a form to tell the government what category you belong to and how you should be taxed. The forms are complicated, and in my own experience, I've dealt with many managers and HR personnel who seem afraid to answer any questions or make any comments related to how to fill out a W 2 form list. They give advice to the best of their knowledge. Not know that said employee has three kids or a second job, and then the form is filled out incorrectly, and a very angry employee takes it out on them because the form is wrong and now money is owed. An easier system from start to finish, from higher to the tax deadline, would not only improve citizen confidence in the tax system, but would also improve the collection process. Imagine if the paperwork was correct to begin with, that's less refunds, less money owed, less collection calls, less tax evasion. Now one could argue that less money owed and fewer refunds also means less interest incurring, which would be a huge revenue loss. But would not the reduced manpower and paperwork associated with tracking down payments and fewer court cases and fewer audits mean money not spent? Could saving money in one area make up for the revenue loss in the other? Why is it that so many other countries are not burdening citizens with the process of filing taxes? But if anything, the general complaint is related to the amount of taxes being paid. In the US, the idea of tax free and paying less taxes is ingrained in the culture. But would paying more taxes allow for universal health care? Why is it that politicians want to sell citizens on lowering taxes or increasing taxes on the rich? As apt to say, if you are someone who has money, it must be because you have earned money in a way that has prevente others from making a lot of money. The idea of stepping on your fellow man to get ahead financially. The anti tax sentiment is actually quite simple. After all, it was only some three hundred years ago that no taxation without representation was the outcry of Americans who didn't want to pay for the Seven Years' War that Britain and Prussia engaged in against France and Austria. The opposition by Americans to paying the high debt that the British government was left with post war is no different than high earning Americans today who don't want to pay for the livelihoods of lower income citizens. What's never made any sense to me is why politicians continue to pit the wealthy against the poor, as if this were all of us living in a pre-imperial France, feeling burdened by the old regime, only instead of placing the blame for the failing system on royalty, the blame is placed on corporate greed. Though it is often missed that corporations are simply entities, and that it's people who run these entities. So vast discrepancies between the haves and the have nots must be because the people who run the entities seek to enslave the poor. Or it must be because they're all soulless and greedy. Or it must have done hmm. I know. It must be because they've done something illegal, because they've done something the wrong way, because they've robbed from the little man, because they've stolen the land, they've done something, something truly wicked. It must be. Otherwise, how else could they have so much while others have so little? So maybe it's just luck. Sheer luck. That's it, they got lucky. They had a helping hand or I know what it is. They had a handout from mommy and daddy. Mm-hmm. Their wealthy parents were eager to give them money at a moment's notice. Strange. Because there are more millionaires in America today than there have ever been before. There is more time saving technology today than there has ever been before. Yet, despite all of this, the greatest country in the world, the richest country in the world does not have streets lined with gold and cannot simplify taxes. Nor can it provide health care for all without demonizing groups and weaponizing that frustration. Funny. Because you see, wow, so many of us are dreading the fact that the tax man cometh, are finding ourselves celebrating a massive refund, are taking the time to plan adventures, how we'll spend that money. So many of us are also not taking the time to set ourselves up for financial freedom in the future. Freedom from ownership. Does anyone else find it peculiar that it has been a trend for a good number of years now, possibly a decade, on social media for Americans to leave this country, a country in which apparently we're all worried that so many immigrants want to come to immigrants coming here trying to take our job and yet expats are living in other countries taking advantage of those low rents, the low cost of living, doing what they can to become the wealthy elite where the price of success is lower. Interesting. Because one could argue that the locals in many of these other countries might not be so thrilled that these Americans are coming in and changing their neighborhoods, not bothering to learn the local language, and are creating communities that seem to exclude those around them to only welcome other Americans. Strange, isn't it? Why is it that social media is selling the idea that in order to live your best life, you have to leave America. Go abroad where the cost of living is lower and you too can live like a king. But the cry of twenty twenty five and twenty twenty six has been no kings. So that does feel a bit ironic. The same way people say you're in America, speak English. You would think the same courtesy would be given by Americans when living abroad. You're in Thailand. You're in Mexico. Speak the local language. The live your best life as an expat, whether it's the retiree or the digital nomad. That bandwagon looks to be a rather enticing one. And who doesn't love the idea of one blue pill to solve all one's problems? To live in blissful ignorance. Other real issues. Let's do it. Come on, baby. Let's all retire early. Take out another loan or max out that credit card because you deserve to live life to the fullest. You deserve to be happy. You worked hard for your money and you should be able to spend it now. Not wait until you have permission from the government to stop working. Though, American expats still have to pay taxes to the American government if their income exceeds a certain amount. True, there are ways in which one doesn't pay taxes to the US while living abroad, but it does include more costs. Complex paperwork. No problem if you're an expat living in a high tax country like the UK or France. But if you've moved because you felt you weren't getting enough bang for your buck, then chances are you didn't move to a higher cost of living location. So what's the solution? Do Americans all denounce their citizenship status, become nationals, buy boats, and go live in international waters where cries of no taxation without representation can ring out on the open seas. Doesn't sound too bad to me, though I don't believe Amazon delivers. I have no idea what to do if approached by pirates. And I can't help but feel the lifestyle itself might prove to be a bit more isolating than things are today, with everyone barricaded in their homes, armed with their smartphones, tuned in to their favorite polarizing political talking heads. Well, darlings, I must confess I'm a good girl. And it's high time I get back to finishing up my taxes. After all, the deadlight is approaching. Thanks for stopping by, darling. It's been lovely to chat.