On a related note: withholding tax money from everyone's paycheck was always a stroke of genius. If everyone had to actually write a check for -- let's say, $50,000 -- in April, I think people wuld be more conscious of how much they really pay, how much it hurts, and I think there would be more pressure to reduce the cost of government.
Similarly, if the government depended on getting enormous checks once a year, it would be a lot easier for people to protest by not sending it in. With withholding, the best many people can do is just to increase the number of dependants on their W-2. Such a form of protest is not quite so dramatic.
The best article I’ve ever seen on that very subject.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj14n3-1.html
EVOLUTION OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING: THE MACHINERY OF INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
by Charlotte Twight
Five day general strike (M-F). No earnings to tax, no spending to tax, no funds changing hands. DC would soil their shorts.
I’ve been saying for years that there should be no witholding, that everyone should have to pay quarterly estimated taxes like independent contractors.
There would be a tax revolt within a year.