astenon wrote:Question: Considering that you guys (in the USA) have tax payment day on the 15th, is it a bad idea to list stuff right now? If so, when should it get better?
Actually just the opposite is true.
Tax time is a GREAT time to list items in the USA...
Because for many of us in the lower tax brackets, tax time means we actually get money back.
In the USA Federal Income Taxes are commonly withheld every pay period based on an amount Each of us sets up once per year.
Those of us who have jobs pay a portion of that years income tax EVERY time we get paid, as our federal taxes are taken out by our employers before we even see that weeks pay check (or however often you get paid).
We set up how much we have our employers deduct from our pay each year to send to the federal Tax Fund so that the amount taken out of each pay check (hopefully) eventually equals our years taxes.
Most of us set that withdrawal amount to equal as close to our total expected years taxes so that we don't owe a dime at Tax Time, or even better, get a small amount back.
Some of us also have great deductions that allow us to claim tax breaks (Such as a house filled with little ones).
Also, a whole lot of folks use the government like a NO INTEREST savings account.
IE. They are paying far more each pay period than they need to so that they will always get a FAT Tax Refund check at about this time of year every year.
This is really ALL TOO common too.
But, IMO that is a truly bad way to go about it.
Many of the folks that do this have no clue and some have been doing it all their lives and watched mom and dad do it too while they grew up.
Seeing them get what seems like a fat bonus stack of money from the government every year at this time and seeing them spend a stack of cash every year at this time on things that they would never buy at any other time of the year because they never have any money...
It becomes like a inherited family addiction of some sort...
THAT MONEY WAS THERES ALREADY!
The government was simply holding it for them and drawing interest on it the entire time.
THE tax payers dont get that interest back though, the government KEEPS IT!
All you get back is whatever amount you paid that is over your Taxes owed for that year.
The Federal Tax is NOT a savings account!
YOU could be using that extra money each pay period instead of allowing the government to hold it and use it.
You could even be placing that money into a REAL savings account that draws interest for you, or a retirement fund, instead of simply GIVING it to the government to draw interest on instead.
Still there are many folks that do pay more than they should expecting to see nice big refunds at this time of the year.
They get excited at the prospect of all that spending money each year.
That big refund starts burning a hole in their wallets immediately though.
So they will spend it as soon as they get it.
So, Tax time in the USA is actually a GREAT time to list stuff on E-Bay, while those folks still have some of that fat stack of cash left.
Someone is going to get that money... those folks wont keep it for sure.
USA retailers know this too.
More sales are started during tax refund time than any other time of the year.
Some retailers even advertise that they will accept your tax refund checks as payment, or that they will cash them for you.
Drawing those suckers in to spend that stack of money.
Many Car companies will even accept Tax refunds checks as down payments.
Tax refund time is a freaking spending spree every year and has been for decades.
