Why Do We HATE Paying Taxes? 

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I have no issues paying taxes as a US citizen, however I hate that I have to do the paperwork when the government already has all the info they need. Always struck me as odd.

The Dutch "IRS"'s slogan is (roughly translated): "We can't make it more fun, but we can make it easier." As an international sole propriety business owner, I only have to file two forms: EU One-Stop-Shop VAT sales and national VAT income/revenue. Takes about 45 minutes per year. Simple :)

"Why Do We HATE Paying Taxes?", Because we don't get what we perceive as value, for our money.

Wait a minute...when I dial 911 I'm getting charged for the ambulance bill. Wtf! What did they do with my tax money?

I hate paying taxes because the government is super inefficient. Just check how much your local government paid for something. Everything that the government procures is way overpriced. Like using 2 million dollars to build a toilet. the list goes on and on.

As a professional, paid tax preparer, I fully advocate for a simpler system that makes my job obsolete to the every day taxpayer, as it should be.

11 hours! I spent 2 hours to file my tax and I thought it was too much of my time already!

I think the main issue with that feeling @3:10 is because many Americans aren’t making enough money. You ever make minimum wage work 40 hours and see over half your check gone to income tax meanwhile there’s barely enough money for living.

Living in Michigan I am well aware that my tax dollars are paying for roads that are kept in extremely poor condition.

In Spain it used to be awful. But it is getting easier. You can download a “draft” that includes everything the government knows about your finances. If you aren’t self-employed and you don’t have tenants in your properties or something similar, it takes less than ten minutes having a look at it, adding the very few things that might be absent (if any) and filing them online. No attached documents needed either.

Wow 11 hours on average to do your taxes!? It takes me about 15min to do my taxes in the Netherlands.

Paying just taxes is fine, the issue is most taxes and rates are not just.

The problem is when they star creating taxes for things they didn't have before, Green products have nudges now, but when they become the norm, they are going to be taxed like normal cars and gasoline are right now, and people won't like that. Spain created a controversial tax for solar energy called the "sun tax" and it showed in the elections the backlash.

Paying taxes sucks when you know the money is being spent on things you don't agree with or the government is not using it correctly. That pisses me off. I also believe we shouldn't be paying any more than 5% income taxes. If the government can't survive off of 5% (~$1 Trillion/year), they need to be shrunk down!

This year for the first time I filed my taxes online on our local "IRS" website instead of going thru my work. It was so easy I almost laughed. When I connected with my electronic ID all my info was already inputted. All I needed to put in was my yearly income, my already deducted taxes and (since I had no complicated incomes) just double click all other money related fields in said form to automatically calculate things for me. If I had complicated income the worst I'd have to do is fill in 10-15 fields and rest of it again automatically calculate with double clicks.

In US, the companies takes around 175 hours per years to pay tax. To much time? In Brazil, it's "only" 1.500 hours per year!

I don’t like paying taxes simply because I have absolutely no control as to where my money goes. They literally take my money and decide where my money goes for me 🙄

When talking about the voluntary compliance rate you could also have discussed countries which have a 'pay as you earn' system such as New Zealand

Because it’s immoral. That’s the answer to the question. Nobody has given any justification for stealing.

I know last thing you want to do is get political, but that jab towards Trump was great. No one is above the law.

In the UK we don't even need to sign it. All done automatically for the majority of people.

I think the view/use disparity is the real hang up most US citizens have. There was a CA tax that was supposed to be temporary and the funds were supposed to go directly to schools to build their infrastructure and thus, the students learning capabilities... but the money went to the bureaucrats and other funds umbrella'd in the tax code and schools didn't see a measurable dime. And the tax remained, syphoning more money out of citizens wallets and into dump funds years later. There is no accountability or transparency. The same with the HUGE bureaucracies in public works industries. Big government is the ultimate corrupt corporation. It shows when private companies build and maintain for 1/4 the cost of government entities.

I hate paying tax because A) Google and large companies pay only 3-4% tax while I have to pay 30-40% tax. B) Corrupt govt. A small part of it actually goes towards the development and poor people. Imagine working hard for 4 months of an year just to fill corrupt politician pockets.

Love your content! Hope two cents stay afloat for as long as possible! - From India.

I'm Indonesian. We really hate taxes because there are so many corruptions.

In the Philippines, if you are employed or belong to the working people, the company, specifically the Human Resource Dept., handles all the filing for their employees. But people with companies or businesses, they filed their own taxes but that is mostly handled by the accountant.

People hate paying tax as only small portion goes to improvement of society and major portion to politician and beaurocrats. Also after paying taxes service received from Govt. Is pathetic. It is worldwide phenomena.

Even Joker is afraid of tax evasion.

How does mortgage tax deduction make the houses cheaper? People come with more dry powder and they raise the prices due to tax deductability. I guess builders can sell the houses at a higher price. So renters are subsidizing house builders?

In Lebanon we just have our taxes deducted from our paychecks without feeling it

I think the worst tax is sales tax... Not because the tax itself irks me, but because they don't build it into the price tag at the store. Why is it my responsibility to calculate how much I'm going to pay?? I also don't mind taxes in general, I think social services are incredibly important and am happy to pay to help my neighbors. But I don't like how our government chooses to spend it... Why exactly are we paying to keep our military in countries we aren't at war with? And why are our politicians allowed to be paid for life even after they leave politics? Extreme mistrust of government is also a VERY American thing, which adds another layer of complexity in how Americans feel about taxes....

"closing tax loopholes" What loopholes? Just because some people educate themselves in ways to avoid paying taxes, doesn't make it a "LOOPHOLE".

My mother has been an accountant for years... it's unfair that the IRS never contacts people when they owe THEM the money... only when the people need to pay them... or get audited to see 😆 I think that money should go towards the people who owe instead of just abandoned funds/profits

Because we have no say as to where the money is used.

Digging the new tattoo Phillip!!

Taxes in the Us are weird, in that you still have so mùany out-of-pocket expenses left that are covered by tax in other countries. (Social security in Europe, for exemple, is mostly paid by taxes, but you don't have to sell your house if you have cancer.

Two problems with taxes. They too high, and the government wastes it. The best solution I know is to stop taxes every angle you can. Just take one common source. The more complex the system, the more you need to tax to support it. No Death Tax, No Gift Tax, No Capital Gain Tax. No Property Tax, No Business Tax (Because the customer always is paying that in the end.). I'm still trying to decided if it's best to tax the money that comes in (your paycheck), or the money that goes out. (Vat or sales tax.). Inflation always encourages you to spend or invest. I'm need more information. Here is an idea that I'm working on: 1st: The Federal Government needs to stop most of their programs and turn the responsible over to the states. The Feds can give the states money for Federal programs, but states need to pick up and be responsible for their on state. And maybe (I'm still thinking on this), the states should pay into the Federal government. That is why I think we should limit what the Federal does to the most basic needs. Next make the tax system simple. Get ride of most of all deductions and subsidies. Set the default standard deduction high. For example: 35k for Single. And any rebates or other tax credits should phase out. States that have a higher cost of living can make up the difference if 35k is to small in their own tax system. Any deduction and subsidies that are allowed need to have a net gain for society. There must be some type of return on investment. For example. Lets say you have a Child Credit for 3k per child. It might start to phase out at 100k, and finish phasing out at 200k. So even if someone has 10 children and is near 200k, then they might only get $1 per child. The same goes for solar or electric car credit. You need start and end points. Then the rich will not be about to take advantage, if you base the the numbers before any other deductions, other than maybe the Standard 35k one. (Numbers are just an example.) You shouldn't tax businesses because they just find away around it. You want the business to be encourage to reinvest that money and grow their company. And the cost is usually just bake in on their prices. I think a flat tax is fair. Maybe it's 10% or maybe it's 15% if you tax the paycheck. Or maybe some type of Vat or Sales tax. I'm still thinking that one though. But the tax code should be so simple that all the rules are a page or two long. It leaves no room for anyone to cheat. That is about it for now. One last thought. Tax from one angle. It you tax from many angles you make a mess of things.

Can you do a video on retirement annuities?

Patriotic civic duty? Any amount of patriotism is dumb and calling these duties is outrageous.

My issue with taxes is I don't know how it's really being used. You can look and see some of it, but how do we have so much debt as a nation. The US finances isn't being used like a regular household. I view debt and interest as negative. I try to avoid them, knowing that if my spending is higher than my income, then one of those needs to change. I wouldn't trust a company running like the nation. I would even be hesitant to order something from them, and pay for it before getting it because something is really wrong.

In Kenya we have an automated system that takes minutes if you have to do it manually and no papers is all online. I suppose the US tax system is messed up

We hate paying taxes because we don’t get a receipt of where our money goes. And tell us how much we need to pay

We hate paying taxes cause many of us feel the govt is unbelievably irresponsible with the spending they do. When you hear billions being sent to other countries for useless programs that should make you mad! Totally agree on simplifying the tax code though!

I think we should have a flat tax. No loopholes. No reductions. Everyone, every company, everything regarding money pays a flat 20% tax. Earned income only.

I needed this video today of all days! I can relate. I have filled a form for a government service in an European country before!!!!

My issue with taxes is how I have to pay when I make a profit. But, don't get compensated for a loss. Even worse? People are taxed despite having a net worth much less than 0 (student loans x.x).

People not paying any income tax at all but still getting a refund need to pay their fair share.

"Keep government out of my medicare!"

Taxes are high = panic 😨 Makes more money = calm 😌 Taxes increase = panic 😰

We hate paying taxes because the taxes are only used to grow the government further and thus require more taxes.

I'm Canadian and im trying to learn to do my own taxes, because I triple check everything it takes me about 30-40 mins. That's not as good but wow.

Why the hate? U$ Govt ... Fill out these forms and send us how much you think you owe... And we will let you know if you are incorrect manu months later!

Australias tax system is way better. The US system is like the country, a mess. And I hate that I have to fill out forms in Australia or Hong Kong for the US, a country I will never visit.

Yeah on sweet tax service application. It just so hard to find it. One was in TurboTax sux.com

"Hey, people don't like slavery, but it is a system in use for thousands of years and necessary for the society. We need the stuff we get from it. We wouldn't have our economy without it." By the way, if taxes we're really a good deal, they would not be enforced by threat of violence and imposed whenever there can.

Let’s be honest with ourselves , if we were in a position of power within the government we would take advantage of free money too

Wow, in Malaysia the taxable income is calculated automatically. Every February we get an EA form which tells us how much of our annual income is taxable. We then have 2 months to log into the income tax website, key in our deductibles(education rebates, parents medical bill rebates, hell even a rebate for buying a laptop or phone). The final tax amount is then calculated and the excess is deposited to our bank account over the course of a week.

I don't mind paying my taxes... I just don't make enough money to actually owe anything by the end of the year, so I get a refund instead. But wouldn't mind paying if I break that threshold

I don't mind paying taxes but I think it is corrupt that we have to play a reverse cat and mouse game so that we keep a corrupt CPA lobby employed.

I read somewhere that all you have to do to complete filing your tax correctly in the US is to do it wrong first and the tax people will give you the right info lol Not sure if true.

Frustrating, ain't it!?

I believe it should take a bit of time to do your taxes but no more than an hour for your average person

I see Philip with the new ink!! 👀🌺

I would sooner donate the same amount in taxes to charities or other causes I support than the ones I don't. I know, in an awful person for not wanting to support everything our taxes fund

People hate paying taxes because nobody likes getting extorted

Feel proud and relief after paying tax.

They say capitalism is the best choice, but this clearly shows how it can backfire, when people or corporations can impede progress by paying and/or lobbying so things stay the same, you know you have a problem (also not advocating for socialism/communism, each system has its pros and cons)

2 Dangerous Words "Fair Share" Also, Now I dislike taxes and lobbyists

Ugh, this is done so much easier here in Romania: either you work at a company or have a state job (like I do), you get automatically a net salary, which means every month taxes, insurances (health-rent) are already subtracted so you only have to care about your costs of living.

This is a strawman. I don't mind paying taxes. I don't like paying the amount of taxes that I do pay. As the video states, the very wealthy have the resources to get the loopholes, so the big taxes tend to be in actuality targeted at the middle class who don't have the resources to do so. Further, taxes aren't just used for actually useful things like the FDA or firetrucks. There's an incredible amount of waste. For instance, in order to keep the budget going, the military will literally waste excess resources. I've heard stories from friends about how they had to burn through ammunition. There's also public workers. Most public jobs can and should be cut. Most public employees are overpaid. So much other waste. No sensible person minds paying taxes. But sensible people do get angry about the amount of taxes they pay and how these taxes are allocated. If you're going to take over a third of my money at gunpoint, at least use it properly.

Taxes are escapable. There are legal ways to avoid them al together. Rich people dont pay taxes.

I don't think you can separate the ideas that taxes pay for essential government functions and they discourage the taxed activity. We like to pretend some taxes are to pay for good things and other taxes are to discourage bad things, but they're always both. All taxes discourage the taxed activity AND provide revenue to pay for government programs. Edit: also, I don't think you should be surprised that countries with a public that feels more stress about dealing with taxes would have lower taxes. Promises to lower taxes are a strong way to gain electoral support only if people feel like their taxes are too high.

Loving the new tattoo

I dont

Spot on! I don't hate taxes. I love the government systems that protect me! What I don't like is when the wealthy control government policy at the expense of people like me.

Paying taxes is patriotic.

Do video how to evade pay a taxes

If we had a single payer system and mandatory paid federal vacation days I would be very happy.

This video was so funny

Because it's theft

Because of companies like Turbotax that don't make it easy for us to file taxes. Why can't they just prepare then for us while we fill in the blanks or change it in case we do something out of line in our lives?

Philip got a tattoo?🧐

Good video, but the big part about taxes isn't the revenue... I have no problem with paying the taxes that I am legally owed, but you didn't talked about the spending side of those taxes which you brushed on as "the lights being kept on, and social programs" as part of civilization. there is arguably billions of dollars that is spent on literally nothing, seriously, nothing, like AIR... that is just one extreme example, but there are literally millions of more examples like that. The US doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem (like most Americans).... which many of your other videos on personal overspending make clear.

Income tax is optional look at Monaco

I really liked this video, but what about the math and psychology that lowering taxes actually makes the government more money? When Regan lowered taxes, the government had more money than expected. Also what about things like abortion being funded by taxes when the murder of babies is abhorrent to some?

Libright moment

I don't like taxes purely for 1 reason, the government makes you calculate your own tax and penalises heavily for doing it wrong. Like imagine you sign to a phone company and they tell you to total your total data monthly. Then they will check and if it's wrong, they charge you extra. Like if you want money from me, spit out an invoice and I'll pay.

If the government can audit and even correct how much taxes you owe, they should do it for us and let us proofread it. But TurboTax and other companies will lobby to keep the existing system.

I'm a European that lived briefly in the US and now in Canada. To be honest to most odd difference I find with the two systems (Europe vs North America) is how the system creates a "distorted reality" in North Am, where when you talk about salaries or other incomes you always talk about it before tax and when you purchase something you always look at it before tax. That actually creates a feeling that you are earning more and spending less where in actuality it is false, you pay taxes on those earnings and you pay taxes on those acquisitions as well. I think that this is done on purpose and an episode on that might be really interesting :)

I hate paying taxes because i don't think the money is being spent appropriately.

This needs to be said as often as possible. The US tax system is ridiculously broken for the avg citizen. Thnx for this video guys.

I did my taxes in 1 minute. Estonia has a very good Tax system.

In England, we don't have to do our own taxes unless self-employed I think (it's all automatically done) never knew it was such a hassle elsewhere! 😬

Investing in crypto is the only big chance of making money

I don't mind paying taxes if it's for the citizenry's benefit but in our country, a huge cut goes to the pockets of politicians. I wish a special hell exists just for them.

people have made fortunes off Crypto, some have lost money. It is volatile, but people make money off of volatility too. Paying taxes won't bother you when knowing how to earn more

Why? Because we want our money to be spent responsibly, not on a bloated military and endless wars.

It is so annoying how the IRS have most of our info and we still have to do all the calculations. Ugh. Just so annoying. Guess it’s nice to know our compliance rate is high though.

In my country, you don't have to file taxes if you work for any company. The company does it for you since they are the ones responsible for deducting taxes from everyone's paycheck and making the payments on the workers' behalf.