Tax Day...What do you hate more...taxes or big oil?

A not asked enough question: Who is more oppressive...Big Government or Big Oil? Surely you don't come down on the side of Big Oil. It's tax day after all; is your memory that short or are you one of the foolish ones, yes foolish, who got a tax refund?

Foolish? Must I explain? No I mustn't because I have more respect for my readership than patronize you with explanations. Suffice it to say that you should visit Nealz Nuze for some important things to ponder on this most heinous of days (and it is heinous!):

First: How much time did you spend fixing up your tax return and getting it ready to file? The average individual taxpayer spent an average of 57 hours for their 2004 return. Was 2005 better or worse? Fifty-seven hours. That's over 7 working days. What else could you have done with those days? Could you have added an additional week of vacation for your family? Could you have spent that time with your children, visiting a sick relative, or just sitting on a fishing boat somewhere? Sorry 'bout that, but there's tax returns to be filled out ... and you either do it yourself or you pay someone else to do it.

Oh ... and that "paying someone else to do it" thing. Just how much money do you think is spent every year by individuals and businesses just complying with our tax code? Well, if history is our guide, the tax return for General Motors will be over 50 feet high. Just what do you think GM is paying for tax compliance and return preparation? There are many estimates here, but they seem to start at about $300 billion a year and go up to $500 billion. That's money that isn't being spent to expand businesses, create jobs, or investigate new technologies. Eliminate our tax code and you'll see an immediate infusion of $300 billion, or more, into our economy.

Another question: Just how much did you pay in taxes for 2005? Come on now, don't look at your tax return. Just say it out loud. "I paid $______________ in federal income taxes last year." You don't know? Well, don't feel pregnant. Most people don't They know how much they "got back," or how much extra they had to pay with their return, but few can tell you how much they actually paid without having to look it up. Politicians love it this way. With their withholding program your money just vanishes. It disappears before you ever even get your hands on it. You can't miss what you never had .. so we now have this lovely situation where people not only don't know how much they paid in taxes, but they don't even know how much they made! Go ahead! Ask someone what they make! If you get an answer at all it will be something like "I take home ......" You didn't ask what they took home, you asked what they made! They don't know, and the free-spending politicians smile.

Happy Tax Day, Y'all! (NOT!)