This is the flyer the school district sent home with my son on Monday. When I picked it up off the floor today to throw away, I actually looked it over."Keep Your Money! You've earned it." Sounds good, right? I'd like to keep more of the money my husband earns at his job.
But then read the fine print. (Apologies for the bad photo--I am too lazy to get out of my chair and actually take a real picture, so you get a webcam version.) Under "You've earned it" the fine print is as follows:
"If your household income is below $49,000 per year, you may qualify for an Earned Income Tax Credit of up to $5,600 even if you don't owe any taxes!"(A little digression: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit designed to offset the burden of US payroll taxes (like Medicaid/Medicare and social security). Only certain low-income taxpayers qualify.)
So the whole "Keep Your Money! You've earned it!" only applies to people who qualify for the EITC.
Apparently, the rest of us don't get to keep our money, because we haven't earned it. Or something.
(I don't think EITC is a bad idea--letting taxpayers keep more money is actually a good thing, and this makes the payroll tax less regressive. But still--what a poorly worded advertisement! If you are rich(er), you didn't really earn your money, and therefore the government will keep it!)
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