| wfewfwefwefw |
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Why does the govt. give credits for things like medical expenses on your tax return? What do they gain from it? |
| cranium |
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People respond to incentives. If I told you that Olivia Munn would be your girlfriend if you ran to the local supermarket, I bet you would respond to that incentive and do it. Money is a great incentive. If I told you I would give you $10/day if you spent 1 minute less on Letsrun.com, I bet you would do it. Tax credits are a way of giving people money for doing certain things. The guvmint has decided that it wants to incentivize certain things, like getting medical treatment, donating to charity, going to school, buying a home, having children, and they give corresponding tax benefits. Hope that helps. |
| wfewfwefwefw |
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Actually, that doesn't make much sense at all. Thanks anyways. |
| Twitched |
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What doesn't make sense? Do you understand what an incentive is? |
| wfewfwefwefw |
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I know what an incentive is, of course. But why would I be incentivized to buy a house? What if I don't make "enough" money? Would they still provide that incentive? |
| wfewfwefwefw |
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This person is not the OP, I am the OP |
| gasser |
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If you can't afford a house and therefore don't qualify for the related mortgage interest deduction, fear not. Your landlord takes the deduction and you 'should' see some portion of that cost savings reflected in your rent. Landlords could pocket the difference of course, but they also have to compete with market prices so it's likely that some savings flow through to renters. |
| flagtastic |
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They give those credits so politicians can defend those credits and get reelected. Mortgage interest deduction is stupid, but too many people benefit from it to eliminate it. That is why we are heading on the road to being like Greece. |
| SMJO |
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Its really just a way of gambling. You have the incentive to try to gain by saving a bit with those credits but the act of achieving them probably gains them more in the long run. You get a credit for being a homeowner and they nail you with property tax. Each incentive feeds the primary act. Think of it as the catalyst that sets the whole disaster in motion. |
| break it up |
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I love the EIC. Well I don't qualify as a single man but it nice that people with a couple kids that make 11 bucks an hour can take that 5000 dollars and go out and get that sweet 60 inch flat screen TV and new tatoos. |
| Blowing.Rock Master |
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So, does the Earned Income Tax Credit "incentivize" people to have kids while only working part time? |
| Individual Liberty |
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Tax credits don't make sense be ause the income tax doesn't make sense. Your life is your business and the government shouldn't be incenstivising anything. |
| dsaffsds |
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Actually it incentives them to work part time rather than not working at all. A lot of tax credits are just income redistribution. Nobody has a kid for the tax credit. Nobody undergoes a medical procedure to save money on taxes.
So, does the Earned Income Tax Credit "incentivize" people to have kids while only working part time?[/quote] |
| cranium |
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Incentives are ubiquitous. Plenty of people do not not have a kid because of the EIC (notice the double negative, it makes more sense when you think about people that were considering abortion or adoption but their, perhaps subconscious, knowledge of the EIC, and other child rearing benefits, pushed them over the edge to keeping it). Also plenty of people do not not undergo medical treatment because of taxes deductions (again a double negative to point out that some people considering medical procedures may have forgone them but for their knowledge that they would have a tax credit waiting for them). |
| helplessly surrounded by dumb |
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reading this thread scares me. |