Friday, April 17, 2015

By design-----Taxation illiteracy high among the average American

Survey: Taxation illiteracy high among the average American - Watchdog.org
During the American Revolution, one of the major objections the colonists had was the taxation by the British crown without having any representation. 
While the problem of taxation without representation has been solved, it has been replaced by something almost as bad and nearly as destructive: taxation without understanding.
Tax Day is upon us, and the average American has little or no idea of how they are being taxed or why, according to a recent survey:
Most American adults get an “F” in understanding income tax basics, according to a NerdWallet survey of 1,015 people across the U.S. in early February. Respondents scored on average 51% in a 10-question quiz on tax basics related to such personal finance issues as retirement, college savings and health care.
A century ago, the income tax form was a single page that even the most mathematically challenge could understand. 
Today the tax code has become increasingly complex to the point where very few people actually do their own taxes, read the forms and fill them out.
“I don’t think we were totally surprised by what we found,” Alex McAdams, a personal finance analyst at NerdWallet, told Daily Finance
“The tax code is pretty complicated, so you can’t blame people for not understanding the details.”

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