Tax Credits Calculator: What It Can Do?

In this life, there are only a few certainties and one of them are taxes.  Most of us hate paying those taxes but a tax credits calculator can make the process seem less painful.  If a single mother of two young children is struggling to make ends meet, tax credits can greatly help her provide for herself and her children.

However, this is not a replacement for employment.  Those at the lower end of the financial spectrum often see these credits for a short time. This is a way of gauging how much of a refund will be given back to people.  The Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank for social policy in Washington, has been instrumental in devising this calculator.

Elaine Maag, a co-director for the calculator at the institute, stated that many people feel it is almost useless to work anymore due to the declining amount of credits.  What was once a glimmer of hope for the poor has become a fleeting dream.  The Tax Credits Calculator also helps shed light on how each individual state rolls out tax credits.

Ms. Maag goes on to state that our hypothetical mother could receive approximately $18,000 in funds from groups such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and a Women, Children and Infants subsidy (WIC).  Once the mother begins working at a minimum wage job, she will earn around $18,000 in wages but the benefits will begin to rapidly decline because she is now “making her own way.”  Using the Tax Credits Calculator will reveal that unlike before, she is not getting back credits as much.

Do US Citizens Have to Legally Pay Taxes?

We all work hard for our money and we all want life to be fair, so of course, when buzz begins to circulate about the possibility of US citizens not having to pay income tax… we jump right on it. But trust me, when something sounds a little too good to be true, it’s usually because it is.

Unconstitutional you say?

According to believers of this idea the 16th Amendment was never ratified, and therefore we shouldn’t have to pay taxes.

However, the amendment states that the government will collect taxes from its citizens.  This seems pretty cut and dry, however a man named Bill Benson, author of The Law that Never Was, argued that the amendment should not be included in the constitution because it was not properly ratified by the thirty-six states needed at the time to pass. Benson claims that none of the states properly legally went through the process of ratification and even found “evidence” proving that at least four of the states that were documented as ratified actually had paperwork stating their opposition or non-support of the amendment.

There were some spelling and capitalization errors on copies of the documents returned to the Secretary of State. However, Secretary Knox, aware of these small mistakes, adopted the amendment, seeing no need to throw it out based on such trivial and superficial errors.

Neiner Neiner Neiner

What many of the believers also think is that if you do not pay your taxes, even if accused and convicted of this, you will still avoid jail time, just… because.

Benson was indicted in 1980 and in 1981 for tax evasion After attempting to use hi research as his defense strategy, he was promptly found by a jury to be guilty on all counts. Anyone who has attempted to use his “evidence” in their defense or to support their negligence to pay income tax, has suffered the same consequences as he did. He is now infamous for tax evasion.

In addition to jail time, Benson also got a hefty law suit from the Department of Justice for manufacturing and selling tax scheme documents and interfering with the IRS. Benson was charging $3,500 for his “Defense Packages” and was ordered in the suit to stop, post a copy of the citation on his website and handover to the government all the personal information of his customers including social security numbers.

I believe the lesson learned here is that if you want something to be true, somehow, somewhere, especially in the internet era, you can dredge up “information” to support your fact or theory. But tread lightly, if you follow in Benson’s footsteps, there is nothing but trouble ahead.

TaxAlmanac offers up a discussion of tax evasion jam packed with tax urban legends containing a mixture of desperation and hope to downright humor and everything in between.

George Gallagher writes for a handful of personal finance and economic blogs. When not writing he works with young people to sort out their private student loan consolidation questions.

Tax Carnival Ecstasy – November 8, 2011

Welcome to the November 8, 2011 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. We have a great article from FastSwings.com in this issue about President Obama’s recent mortgage program that will help home owners refinance at the new lower rates. Hope you enjoy all the articles, bookmark, share, tweet, like on Facebook and come back soon.
President George W. Bush and President-elect B...
Image via Wikipedia

 

Kristine Ann presents roth ira taxes posted at Roth IRA Rules and Guidelines, saying, “As a financial planner I’m always telling clients they need to diversify. Taxes are a lot like investments when it comes to the need to diversify. Tax laws change just like the stock market does, so depending on one tax strategy is similar to investing in just one stock”

Online Dividends presents $125 Chase Cash Bonus Deal – Exp 11/26/2011 posted at Blogging Banks, saying, “New clients of Chase can get a $125 cash bonus when they open a Chase checking account by November 26, 2011.”

Adriana Roux presents Sexy Power Ranger Costume Causes Lawsuit posted at Bankruptcy Attorney NJ RSS Feed, saying, ““Did you want to be the pink Power Ranger growing up?” This is the question that is used to market the sexy pink action hero costume found on MyPartyShirt.com. Besides the low-cut bottom and revealing top, the costume closely resembles that of Saban Capital Group’s original pink ranger, but the skimpy-ness of the Halloween costume is not what’s causing the controversy.”

retirement

Bruce Givner presents Blog l Estate And Tax Planning l Asset Protection posted at Law Offices of Givner & Kaye, saying, “Daily insights on estate planning, tax planning, asset protection planning and other matters regarding the representation of high net worth individuals and their closely held corporations.”

Martha Stewart presents Retirement Around the World: 25 Fascinating Facts posted at onlinemba.com, saying, “Retirement as we know it is a relatively new phenomenon, brought on by a combination of longer life spans, changing attitudes about work, government social programs, and the rise of a middle class.”

taxes

Sandra Campbell presents The Advantages of Small Business Credit Cards | Small Business Credit Cards | Best Credit Cards for Small Business posted at Small Business Credit Cards, saying, “Starting a new business can be a very exciting and stressful time for an entrepreneur, and you are probably faced with difficult decisions for your business daily.”

tips

SteveR presents Will Obama’s New Lifeline Catch Any Fish? posted at FastSwings, saying, “President Obama announced changes in the HARP program today, aimed at allowing more homeowners to refinance their homes. But will it work?”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of tax carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

 

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