pcr speaks about april 15 and taxes; 

 

April 15 Reminds Us of How Unfree We Are

Paul Craig Roberts

Citizens of democracies think of themselves as free.  This belief reflects their indoctrination, not the facts.

Historically, the definition of a free person is a person who owns his own labor.  A serf and a slave did not own their own labor, and neither does a citizen of a Western democracy today.  Today, April 15, is a good reminder of that fact. 

Once upon a time April 15 was the deadline for paying one’s taxes for the prior year. This imposed a burden on taxpayers not to spend all of the prior’s year income, but to set aside the share of their earnings that belonged to government, just as serfs had to set aside the proportion of their labor that belonged to feudal lords, the government of that time. Initially, only the federal government owned part of an American citizens income, but then states followed as did the city of New York.  Americans who pay federal, state, and city income taxes are actually taxed higher than Medieval serfs and 19th century slaves on Southern cotton plantations, which means that Americans are less free than serfs and slaves.

Today April 15 is the deadline for filing your tax return, but for most Americans the taxes have already been paid by the withholding tax on wages and salaries and by quarterly estimated tax payments by those with  income from investments that are unpredictable such as stocks and bonds. The withholding tax is paid by that part of your wage or salary that you never see.  The quarterly estimate is paid by the person writing a check based an an accountant’s estimate. Many Americans might be unaware that the government claims the monetary value of 30-40% of their labor.  They never see the money as employers pay it directly to the government.  Many Americans are overwithheld.  Instead of having to pay the IRS, they receive a check from the government............more..........