An Income Tax Refund for 2009

I just now finished my 2009 Federal income tax return using Turbo Tax's Free Federal edition. I assumed that since Florida has no state income tax they would have charged me for the use of the Fed return but it wasn't so. Not bad if you live in a state that doesn't have state income tax like New Hampshire, Florida, Wyoming, or Alaska.

Because I'm a Federal annuitant my "salary" for 2009 was not much different than 2008. In fact because Federal annuities are tied to the inflation rate, and there was no inflation in 2009, we didn't receive any increase in our payments.

When I completed my 2008 return about one year ago right now I had to pay in an additional $1800 to the Feds. This was above and beyond the substantial amount I paid in through withholding.

Imagine my shock today when I ran the numbers on Turbo Tax and found that my income tax REFUND for 2009, on making about the same as the year before, was going to be $1,085. But then when I added in the credit for the Stimulus Act that Barack pushed through Congress last spring (Federal annuitants received nothing up front - our stimulus benefit came when we filed income taxes like I did today) suddenly my total income tax refund leaped to $1,377!!!

Now how can this be?? The Tea Party anarchists are continually telling the American public (at least the American public that listens to Rush and watches Faux "News") that under the Obama Administration our taxes are INCREASING.

However my 2009 return compared to my 2008 return is prima facia evidence that my taxes DECREASED in the first year of the Obama Administration.

How can that possibly be?? You don't think the Tea Party anarchists have been lying to us do you? Actually the Tea Party anarchists aren't really lying per se...they are just repeating the pablum of lies and deceptions that Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Dick Armey, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and other purveyors of lies have fed them and told them to say. After all Roger Ailes, Senior VP for Faux News sends out a talking points memo every morning at 8:00 a.m. telling his minions what the spin should be that day. Can you expect any less from the neanderthal's who follow them?

I guess I just need to start listening to Rush Limbaugh and watching Faux "News" so I can get a handle on what is really happening in the United States, despite the evidence saying exactly the opposite.