I got a sponsored tweet from the “Bla Bla Bla Store” yesterday.  It said “Spend your tax refund wisely—save big with offers at the Bla Bla Bla Store.”

For the last few years, I have not gotten a tax refund.  I’ve had to pay income tax.  It’s not because I make millions of dollars.  It’s because I’ve decided that it’s a better practice to have the money in my own coffers all year and then write a check on Tax Day for whatever I owe to Caesar.  By adjusting my withholding, I’ve managed to owe for the last two years; I prefer it this way.

The alternative is that I give the money to Caesar during the year, Caesar keeps it and uses it (interest free) and then gives it back to me.  This is the preferred route for many.  It always breaks my heart when I read comments like this on social media:

“I just got my tax refund back and booked my vacation to Bermuda!  Woo hoo!”

The tax codes are intricate and involved; there is a whole profession that exists to help the subjects of Caesar weave their way through the labyrinthine system and pay fewer taxes.  I am not a member of this profession.  I’m just an observer, writing a check for thirty two dollars and putting it in its assigned envelope today.

In case anyone has forgotten, it’s Patriot’s Day here in New England.  This is a civic holiday to commemorate the first battle of the American Revolution.  Some may think the Minutemen were training for the Boston Marathon, but they were actually involved in a tax protest.  A few terms I vaguely remember from U.S History class were “The Stamp Act” and “No taxation without representation.”

I don’t have a philosophy or a position on taxes and I haven’t studied it closely; I just don’t think the Bank of Caesar is the best place to park a few extra fiatsoes which might be rattling around.  I know, I know…no one makes any interest in the non-Caesar banks either, based on ZIRP.  Still, I’d rather have a few extra dollars from paycheck to paycheck.

You decide.