Why do we lend the government so much money each year, and collect no interest on that money?

I heard this morning that the average tax return (we should be so lucky) amounted to $2,200! Wouldn’t it make more sense to have claimed more deductions throughout the year and either invest the money, or even bank it, so it will work for you… then at the end of the year (April 15th), if you were accurate in the number of claimed deductions either you don’t owe the government a nickel or perhaps a few dollars (in which case YOU got an interest FREE loan FROM the government).

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

• Refrained From Posting I've been holding back.  I admit it.  Feigning writers cramp.  Writers elbow?  Brain cramp?  Brain fart?  TMI? Well, the truth be out now.  I didn't want to "cover up" my prior post.  I do hope that you all got a chance to view that video.  If not, it's the post......
• Life Insurance is Not an Investment from ezinsurance.com.au: There is no doubt that investing for the future is important, but insurance shoppers need to know the difference between investing and buying insurance. This article explores the reasons why life insurance may not be the best investment. While the subjects of life insurance and investments often become......
• As the day lingers on... ... and my thoughts turn to blogging. Why you may ask? Because one day as I posted before someone is going to want to pay for my wisdom (right?). What wisdom you say? Stick around and you'll find out. So, what has this fine day brought so far? A policy......
• Best posts on Squirrelman's Nutzy World from May 2009 Too many posts to handle? If you missed out on a great post from last month, here's a quick digest of the top posts that you may want to check out:Subscribe to Our Blog Posted on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 in Blogs - Views: (27)There's a new box on the......
• All-Star Games I have a master plan for professional sports to (finally) do the right thing. I would like to see these "sporting" events become charitable events.  ALL the proceeds should be donated to either a charity of the league's choice, or perhaps each player can designate a charity that they will......

• When that interest-free loan gets paid back ... You know the one I'm talking about ... your tax refund! ;) When I saw the Liz Pulliam Weston article 7 smart ways to spend your tax refund I saw the word "spend" and thought, "Oh great, just blow it on junk, why don't you!" But I was wrong in......
• Got a Refund? 10 Ideas to Spend Your Tax Refund I've always been an advocate against getting a refund each year and changing your withholding throughout the year to get extra money now instead of waiting. Yes, getting a refund is better than paying in to the government, but I always like to tweak my withholding just enough to where......
• Tax Return is Finished I finished our tax return today. I'm leaving town on Tuesday for a few days so I had to wrap up early. The only thing that surprised me about this year's return is that we got hit with a small bit of the AMT - alternative minimum tax. This development......
• Interest-Only Loans and Annual Refinances A few of my friends who own homes got into the habit of getting interest-only loans and refinancing them every year. Apparently there was some math that "made it cheaper" to refinance every year. Starting every year with a new loan didn't seem like a good investment but I'd never......
• Personal Retirement Plan Investment Options Good financial management consists of two different distinct facets, the first of which is learning how to make the best use out of your limited earned income in order to best meet your current expenses, and the second of which has to do with learning how to implement strategies that......

Tags: Finance, Taxes

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 10:38 am and is filed under Taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.