It’s really telling about America when someone like Tim Geithner can skip out on paying $34,000 in taxes, then get nominated as the US Treasury Secretary, and go on to publicly advocate for raising taxes in 2011. It’s easy to call for tax hikes when you’ve managed to dodge them yourself! It’s ironic, isn’t it? Geithner said he made a mistake on his tax returns and overlooked his former employer’s reminders to settle his dues from 2001 to 2004 at the IMF. He only paid up the $34,000 in back taxes after Obama nominated him. It makes you wonder if he would have paid if he hadn’t been appointed, right?
But Tim Geithner isn’t the only one. It turns out, according to a major newspaper, that about 41 of Obama’s aides also failed to pay $830,000 in back taxes. That averages out to $21,000 per aide. And if we’re talking about all delinquent government employees, they collectively owe over $2 billion in taxes. It seems hypocrisy knows no party lines, especially when your political stance supports bigger government and higher taxes. You’d think they’d at least try to pay their own share.
Why do people try to dodge taxes? Well, it seems we just follow our leaders’ example, and it’s not like you and I can stop this trend. We’re just following orders from the higher-ups in government. After all, these are the people America voted for, reflecting our values, right? It seems America loves its tax evaders and double-faced politicians—if we didn’t, they wouldn’t be in power.
On a more practical note, if you’re looking to save on taxes, why not start your own business? You can set up as an LLC, S-Corp, or even a Sole Proprietor, file a Schedule C, and possibly contribute to a Self-Employed 401k, deducting up to $54,000. All your business expenses are deductible too. Just launching a website can add to your business’s legitimacy.
And here’s an interesting fact: income taxes have decreased under President Trump, so those who contributed to their Roth IRA or Roth 401k expecting higher taxes during retirement from 2017 to 2021 might find themselves mistaken.
Remember, the more you know about handling your taxes and the more you take action to legally protect your income, the better off you’ll be. Don’t just get angry about the system—use it to your advantage like everyone else seems to be doing.
