ConstitutionEconomicsGovernmentPolitics

Here’s Why Some People Should not be Permitted to Vote

George Washington said, “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” People who vote for a more powerful government are more dangerous than government itself.

One way to keep these types of people from voting would be to study the letter to the editor sections of newspapers and identify people who don’t know how our system of government works. For example, I found this gem in the April 17, 2012 issue of USA Today:

The bigger issue [than stay-at-home moms] for me: Why is Mitt Romney having to request an extension of his taxes? The tax deadline is not a surprise.

Mitt Romney has to be aware of the deadline and responsibilities of filing. If he is unable to manage his own business affairs in a timely manner, how could he run the U.S. Government? Or is there something in his personal finances that he is trying to hide?

The IRS permits a six-month filing extension. Anybody can request an extension. Millions of taxpayers request an extension each year. The number of business and personal tax extensions are about 15 million. FileLater.com lists the “Top 100 Reasons to File a Tax Extension.”

An extension doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay your taxes by the April 15th date (April 17th this year). If you don’t pay enough in taxes when you finally file by the October deadline, you will be charged penalties and interest.

A salaried tax payer gets a W-2 form from his employer before by the end of January that specifies earnings and taxes paid. This gives the typical tax payer at least two and a half months to file.

A person who owns a business or several businesses needs a lot more information to file his personal taxes. A business owner can’t file his personal return until he gets his K-1s from each company. Partnerships and S-Corporations do not pay income taxes. Instead, they file their corporate/partnership tax return as an informational return to the owner or partners. This return will distribute the net profit to the shareholders or partners based upon their percentage of stock or how the partnership agreement reads.

For example, if you own 50% of ABC Corporation, an S-Corporation, and ABC Corporation shows a $100,000 profit in 2011, you will receive a K-1 for 50% of the net profit, so $50,000. You would have to claim this $50,000 of income on your personal tax return. Because the company does not pay income tax, the net profit is passed through to the owners who pay the income tax on their personal tax returns.

K-1s are not required to be issued until March 15th, a full month and a half later than the W-2 (September 15th if the return gets an extension filing). Why is more time given? Because of the amount of time it takes to prepare business returns.

A business owner can’t begin to do his personal taxes until he gets his K-1s. Someone like Mitt Romney has a month after getting his K-1s to file by April 15th. The email critic had two and a half months for a simple return.

My business partner and I had to file extensions, and we don’t make as much money has Mitt Romney. We still don’t know how much we may have to pay since our accountant has not finished doing all the necessary accounting. As every business owner knows, it’s a big job filing when you own a business.

It’s obvious that the above emailer does not understand what it takes to run a business, the expenses involved, the complicated nature of the tax code (which has more pages than the complete works of Shakespeare), the number of yearly changes to the tax code, and the amount of time it takes to prepare corporate and personal tax returns to insure that they are tax-code compliant.

As a result of her ignorance, she should not be permitted to vote.

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