Quoted:
And a bunch of you jumped my shit when I posted how unfair it was for married couples with kids getting tax refund checks back.
...
Once again, the taxpayer gets screwed - and the people who get screwed most are those who don't have children. Sigh.
View Quote
Earned Income Credit (EIC) has been around for a while, nothing novel about "negative" taxation.
Keep in mind- getting a refund check just indicates you've overpaid your taxes. Don't give Uncle Sammy a free loan, adjust your withholding so you get little or nothing back in a refund.
I'll admit I'm cleaning up with two kids. Child care credit, tuition credits, additional exemptions, and the flat-out child credit ($X dollars credited for each child) lower my Federal tax burden. I make more-than-average pay but have seen my Federal income tax liability shrink substantially in the last couple of years from several thousand (single) to about one thousand (married, two kids.) Even though I'm raking it in, I still don't think it's fair and would like to see more equity in the way we pay for our government.
Taxes take so much away from every taxpayer, including families, the Gov't is "forced" to give some back to support children. The real answer is to shrink government, let everybody keep more of their money, and more fairly distribute the burden of supporting what necessary government remains.
PS. Thanks for paying to send my kids to Government school... I think...