I wonder if one reason Americans tend to be more against using taxes to fund public things like healthcare and education than most other nationalities in the Western world is because Americans have to file their taxes themselves instead of having it automatically taken off their paychecks? That way it psychologically feels more like you’re losing something, instead of it never being yours in the first place.
Wait are you telling me you don’t have to file your own taxes
WHAT?!?!
SO YOU MEAN THINGS LIKE TAX FRAUD ARE IMPOSSIBLE!
THINGS LIKE MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES SIPHONING OFF HUGE SUMS OF MONEY INTO OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS TO AVOID PAYING TAXES ISN’T EVEN POSSIBLE?!?!
WHY IS MY COUNTRY SUCH SHIT?!?
WE SHOULD USE OUR GIANT MILITARY AND INVADE OUR-FUCKING-SELVES TO BRING US UP TO AN ACCEPTABLE STANDARD OF LIVING!!!
Oh, tax evasion is still rampant in the UK! If you have a job with an employer, your taxes are taken out of your paycheck before you get paid. But for other earnings, inheritance tax and so on, tax evasion is of course possible – and billionaires still siphon huge sums of money into offshore accounts in places like the Cayman Islands. The Panama Papers leak shows our own Prime Minister’s father was involved.
I do think our system’s better than the American system, but don’t be under any illusions that we don’t have a real problem with tax-dodging billionaires as well. And don’t forget that one family in London sitting on a thousand years’ worth of big shiny things being subsidised by the taxpayer that gives the United Kingdom its name… they didn’t even pay tax at all until the 90s…
Just gonna add that Australia has the same system too were income tax is paid by the employeer and so you don’t have to worry filing taxes. Obviously this is different for self-employed people (and I assume so in the UK too) since they are their own bosses, so there is some potential for income tax evasion amongst a very slim minority of people.
Here people file tax returns so that they can some of their tax money back from the government if they overpaid due to business expenses etc.
same here, tax is automatically taken out of paycheck, except if you are self-employed, then you have to be registered as that and file it yourself
ofc tax evasion is super simple and everyone does that, it’s just that it has to be done in collaboration with the employer. you just receive part of your paycheck in cash and it’s never officially filed anywhere. it’s a weirdly widespread practice
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