The Master Plan: Taxes, Air Jordans and Free Computers
Victor Antonio, Sales Influence
(Note: This article has nothing to do with sales...it is a RANT...but you'll be able to relate!)
As I write this article we are in the final throes of finishing our tax ordeal, I mean filing. The federal tax code has become so complicated you need a Ph.d in Forensic Accounting to figure out what you should do. It reminds me of a complicated programming algorithm where one ‘if then’ or ‘go to’ statement can wreak havoc on the outcome.
But that’s not my gripe today. If I can borrow Dennis Miller’s line, “I don’t want to get off on a rant here but…” but I just discovered I have to PAY to PAY my taxes. Using TurboTax I am now required to pay $20 to file my state taxes electronically where if I were to just mail it in it would be free. Now let’s think about this for a moment and walk it through.
• If I mail my taxes in, there’s postage. Someone has to open it, sort it, file it, eventually scan it into the system, review it and then process it.
• If I file electronically, it goes
straight into the system for processing.
Now, if Government was smart (a stretch I know), it would opt for the latter to reduce costs and turnaround time. But, because the government isn’t running a profit and loss center and competing in the open market, there is no incentive for anyone to make the process more efficiency. Why? Well, inefficiencies require more jobs. And in an economy that has high unemployment, the last thing we want to do is reduce jobs by becoming more efficient.
Which begs the question, ‘Who pays for these inefficient jobs?’ You got it; we the people! So not only do we have to PAY to file taxes to PAY the government, we also have to PAY for the inefficiencies and jobs that make the process what it is. In short
• We pay taxes
• Then we get charged to pay our taxes ($20)
• And on top of all that, we pay for the inefficiencies (extra jobs and bureaucracy)
Which begs the question, if the top 10% of U.S. citizens pay an estimated 70% of the tax bill, shouldn’t we cater to the folks who are footing the bill? My point is, why penalize people who are paying the majority of the tax bill and using technology to make things more efficient?
Why not charge a fee to those who mail-in their tax returns since they’re the ones who are making the tax process more costly? Charging a fee would encourage folks in society at all levels to move over to file electronically. I mean, is that what we want, a paperless society that’s more environmentally friendly? (wink, wink)
I know what you might be thinking, ‘You heartless SOB, you don’t care about the poor? Many of them don’t have computers?’
Which begs the question…why? I mean, a new computer at Walmart (those evil capitalist who make things cheaper and affordable for everyone) now offer a computer for $300; that’s affordable. What? Still too expensive? Go to eBay and buy one for less then the price of a new pair of Air Jordans. Or how about Goodwill? Or how about going to the public library (we pay for that too) to use the computer?
Which begs the question, ‘Why is it that people who seem to be living on the edge of society able to afford flat screen TVs, latest cellphone or $200 sneakers but can’t afford a cheap computer?’Don’t’ get mad at me,...I’m just asking!
Whew...
Let me bring it back to my original point. Why do we have to pay a fee to pay our taxes efficiently while those who do it inefficiently and create more work (i.e., government costs) can do it for free? It seems that we don’t want to penalize the poor because they may not have access to a computer. The inverse is to penalize the responsible or the techno-savvy people for embracing technology and using it to their advantage.
Here’s is my simple 3 Step Plan for reducing Government waste when it comes to filing taxes:
Phase 1: Take those BILLIONS you spend on useless programs and hire 2-3 software developers to develop a software package like TurboTax. Then, give everyone access to the program for FREE
so they don’t have to spend $99 buying it from TurboTax. Why FREE? Because it was developed using taxpayer money.
Phase 2: Instead of giving people who are ‘economically challenged’ a “tax refund”, even though many never paid taxes in the first place, give them a voucher to go buy a computer from Walmart. This new demand will increase jobs in the computer sector and Walmart will need to hire more people.
Phase 3: Now that folks are filing electronically, you can reduce government waste by reducing the number of government employees and bureaucratic paperwork. After saving BILLIONS, give those people who ‘pay taxes’ a refund or reduce the tax rate.
Let me know what you think?
Victor Antonio, Sales Influence
