Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 
Matthew 19:14

 

Education Through Tax Cuts

 How to file your child's first income tax return?

Huh? really "HUH"? Children have to pay taxes? 

I understand that as an adult I have responsibility to answer my child's questions: why do birds fly?; does God have a beard?; who put baby into mommy's belly?. But what if your child comes before you with a tax question?! How am I suppose to teach my beloved child about something that is just enough complicated even for me to understand? I'd answer whether God has a beard or not any time of the day rather than any tax question. All that "high tax language" I don't comprehend. It almost seems as if in its origin it was purposely made to confuse "the little ones" and "the big ones". Deductions, Dividends, Exceptions, Exemptions, etc. I am already lost in concepts.

Here is my very SIMPLE proposal. Children under 18 who are employed will not be hindered with income taxes. I believe this will encourage teens to work and save for College. 

No stress - no mess. 

During the president campaign 2012, between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, presenting their ideas on tax cuts, education and health care, one cannot help but think about children and their future, and their parents who are voters for better tomorrow. 

 What inspired me to write this entry today, after a long period of silence, is the voice of children.

 Individuals under 18 cannot vote, but they ought to pay taxes. They are on their parent's health insurance, if they can afford one and parents claim their children as dependents to get tax deductions. But what about orphans? And what about employed children living with unemployed parents?

"Net capital gain and qualified dividends on line 14. If the child does not have any net capital gain or qualified dividends, the amount of the net capital gain and qualified dividends included on line 14 is zero."

(http://www.irs.gov/publications/p929/ar02.html#en_US_2011_publink1000203888)

How about if this saying was formulated as:

"Any" (added by me) net capital gain and qualified dividends on line 14.   If the child "has" (added by me) any net capital gain or qualified dividends, the amount of the net capital gain and qualified dividends included on line 14 is zero."? 

How many of you do your own tax returns? Preparing and handling your own tax returns can be time consuming with constant fear of The sword of Damocles. Therefore, I hand my papers to a legitimate agency that handles such paperwork with a 'not so cheap' invoice. 

As a parent how can I gain respect from my children if I, the parent, am not wise enough to explain how the system works and encourage them through established economy to have faith in the government taking care of the little ones, if the parents are not able or capable of taking care of them. The role of a parenthood is hard enough in itself, so adding another role such as tax-savvy-parent is little bit too much.

Having said all that, my point is, let children be children, and let parents be parents, for any financial master puzzle is just taking away constructive family time. Enough of this writing, I'm craving for some fresh cold lemonade. Think I'll go for a walk to get a drink from my neighbor's kid lemonade stand! Sounds like a perfect match to enjoy it with a scout cookie.

******

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

²⁶ “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷ “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” 

 Matthew 17:25-27