Taxes The Texan Way
There is an adage that claims that the only things certain in life are taxes and deaths. One could presume that tax laws are as easily determined and understood as one identifies death. When a person stops breathing and his brain stops functioning, he’s dead. However, this is not the case with taxes. There is nothing easily understood, clear, and simple when it comes to tax laws. Thus, more tax troubles ensue not because of disregard for the tax laws but because of misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the laws. Tax collectors, indeed, have very taxing jobs. Aside from collecting taxes from people who do not want to part with their hard-earned money, they also have to ensure that these people pay their fair share. Fortunately, Texas taxes, Texas tax laws, and policies are one of the lowest and manageable among the states. There is no magic in this; Texas simply does not charge income tax for state purpose. As a result, Texas taxes are not managed by the CPA of the state but the IRS.
This instance does not mean that Texas tax laws are lax and lenient. There are still several key events that tax collectors and auditors regularly deal with regarding Texas taxes. For one, there is the matter of tax evasion. Though used interchangeably with tax avoidance, there is an essential difference between the two that makes evasion a crime. Tax avoidance simply merits finding loopholes in Texas taxes, Texas tax laws, and policies, and using these to lower tax burdens by legal means. This ensures that the individual pays the least amount of tax as legally possible. Though this may cause tension between the collector and the taxpayer, this is something that can be easily settled with an audit. If the audit confirms that all tax deductions are valid, the taxpayer can get away with his minimum tax. However, if the audit proves otherwise, and the taxpayer was found out to have employed unlawful means to evade paying taxes such as under-declaring income, he could be charged with tax evasion. The legality of the methods used to lower taxes is the difference between the two.
Even if they lack state tax, Texas taxes, Texas tax laws, and policies require that the IRS conduct regular audits. These audits ensure that the taxpayers honestly meet their obligations. These are done in three ways, and the most employed is randomization. In this method, the IRS randomly selects income tax files from the submitted returns. Since there is a probability and a chance that they would be evaluated, taxpayers are driven to be honest with their tax information, thereby, limiting tax evasion cases. The second method employs a computer program used to spot evasion patterns which are prevalent among tax evaders. Evasion patterns such as unusually large allowances for entertainment are red-flagged. Individuals who are repeatedly tagged for the same pattern are investigated.
Thus, even if Texas does not have state income taxes, stringent Texas taxes, Texas tax laws, and policies, ensure efficient tax collection. Texans do not suffer from burdensome state taxes since the tax collection system employed in the state more than suffice for needs of Texas. Texas proves that added taxes are not guarantees for increasing state income.