Tax Refund Spending [POLL]
Ugh! It's Tax Day. Did you get any money back? A recent survey shows that most people getting a refund will spend it on a vacation.
According to PR Newswire:
33 percent plan to spend their refund on a vacation
32 percent plan to put their refund into savings
31 percent plan to pay off debt
2 percent plan to purchase a home
1 percent plan to go on a clothing shopping spree
1 percent plan to spend it on gifts for their children
Now the site also states that the average refund is over $2,800. Umm, really?
Here are some strange but true facts on taxes through the years from efile.com:
- In 1660, England placed a tax on fireplaces. The tax led to people covering their fireplaces with bricks to conceal them and avoid paying the tax. It was repealed in 1689.
- In 1696, England implemented a window tax, taxing houses based on the number of windows they had. That led to many houses having very few windows in order to avoid paying the tax. Eventually this became a health problem and ultimately led to the tax’s repeal in 1851.
- In 1705, Russian Emperor Peter the Great placed a tax on beards, hoping to force men to adopt the clean-shaven look that was common in Western Europe.
- The French had a salt tax called the gabelle, which angered many and was one of the contributing factors to the French Revolution.
- In Arkansas, body piercings, pet grooming, and gutter cleaning are all subject to a 6 percent sales tax.