America seems to be obsessed with two words that start with T: Taxes and Trump! As Tax Day (the deadline for all the tax filings), which was yesterday, April 15, passed by, many treated Tax Day as a time to celebrate a refund, not realizing it’s really a reminder of how disconnected we are from the true cost of government spending.
Taxes can be levied on income, payroll, property, sales, capital gains, dividends, and imports. Hence, refunds are carried out when employees overpay taxes, often due to having employers withhold too much from paychecks. However, tax day seems more like a payday at gunpoint than a day towards attaining financial clarity and freedom.
As per The New York Times, this disconnect between the government’s true spending and the amount of money we give them has happened primarily because of the automatic tax withholding system. It was a system during World War II and requires employers to take income taxes out of your paycheck before you ever see it. This method is an easy one. Still, it’s not a transparent method that tells citizens how much they are actually paying.
Instead of handing over money to the government directly, you don’t feel the impact. That makes it harder to see how much you’re taxed and even easier for the government to raise taxes without many questions. Meanwhile, roughly about $3,000 gets a tax refund each year; this is not a bonus but rather the money that you overpaid to the government. So, for instance, it’s more like an interest-free loan that you have been giving to the government all year.
So, in layperson’s terms, it’s like a person losing their wallet and cash but finding out their ID or driver’s license is amidst the empty wallet. Earlier, in 1943, citizens paid their sums in one go every April. While any increase in the amount was a pain, the tax withholding method, the tax system quietly expanded to include more people — not just the wealthy.
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In 2017, when President Donald Trump came to power, he initiated tax cuts, and roughly 140 million American households paid less in taxes throughout the year. But because they got smaller refunds, many didn’t realize they were truly saving money.
In fact, only 17% thought they got a tax cut — because they measure their taxes by their refund, not their total payments. As of 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launched a new system called the ‘Direct File Program,’ which allowed people to file taxes directly through the government. This program was meant to make things easier for everyone, but it might actually confuse people more.
Some worry that the IRS now has two jobs that don’t match: collecting as much tax as possible while also helping people pay less. At the same time, tax boosts may be on the horizon. If the 2017 tax cuts expire as planned, many Americans will see higher taxes — and most won’t even recognize it’s coming because the system keeps them in the dark.
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The Republicans and members of Congress are working towards dropping the automatic tax withholding by the end of 2025 when Donald Trump’s tax cut policies expire. The government should permit people to opt in if they want.
Moreover, writing a check to the IRS might be painful — but it would make people more aware of how much government really costs. The essence of Tax Day should make citizens deliberate on how much they pay, not celebrate getting back their own money.
Remember, it is important to file taxes on time and follow certain safety protocols, but it’s also a citizen’s right to question where the money we pay is utilized and how it’s benefiting the society that we live in.
