Low 1040 Refunds Threaten Household Finances
I don’t know whether the stories I read about people not being able to come up with four hundred bucks for an emergency are a sign of the times or a pretty universal condition. Think about Dr. Lydgate in Middlemarch or the father in Mill On The Floss . (If you have not read those works by George Eliot, finish this post and start on them. They are free on Kindle). If you are counting on your tax refund for solvency and your income is not on the abject poverty side, take a close look at your spending. It is really boring old fart advice, but sitting here in an RV in Florida at 67, I can tell you it works.
Tax Story Generates Excitement Because Of Minor Nick Saban Connection
As it happens I know somebody who is currently attending the University of Alabama. I reached out to him to find out why a Tax Court decision that marginally affected Saban would seem like a story to the sports press. He wrote me:
In Tuscaloosa, sororities will sometimes paint signs on their window proclaiming that Nick Saban, a 5’6″ 67 year old man, is the sexiest person alive. For reference, I’ve never seen any player treated the same.
So I guess it is not surprising that a Tax Court decision that marginally involves him can generate interest.
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Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.