Just finished my taxes with the CPA and got the shock of my life. I could not believe how much I still owed in Federal taxes; there just had to be some mistake. I even took my W2 back to the school business office and asked the lady if some mistake had been made.
She was nice and said that a whole lot of teachers got the same shock. Then she said, “Do you remember Obama’s tax relief plan where the tables were lowered in order to stimulate the economy?” [i]
I thought a minute, “Yeah, seems like I do remember something. The rates were reduced, and we all laughed because it was just a few dollars on each paycheck; certainly, not enough to stimulate anything. But, looks like that would make my taxes less, not more?” I was still trying to grasp the idea of a tax cut not being a tax cut.
Then she laid the bombshell on me, “It was not a tax cut because at the end of the year your President raised the rates back. It was a tax-relief program.”
“What?” I was trying to make sense of it. “I thought all the news reports were about a tax cut.”
“Nope!” she kindly said. “It was only a temporary lowering of the rates. Now, you are paying back all that money.”
“What?” It still hadn’t sunk in.
“You’re not the only one. A whole bunch of the teachers had to pay more in taxes than they thought. Sorry, I couldn’t help you anymore.” She was kind.
I felt like the biggest sucker in the world as I drove back to the office of the CPA. Here I thought my taxes for last year would get a “break” but instead I’m now “broke.”
I should have known…tax relief to a liberal is designed to “break” taxpayers. It did not stimulate the economy, but it has sure stimulated my desire… for Hope and Change. What a slogan!
I am hoping for a change in 2012! I can’t take any more of these liberal tax “relief” programs.
Did anyone else get the same surprise?
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