1: The No-Refund State
In 2010, California taxpayers received more than $42 billion in refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In which state did individual refunds total the least?
A) Alaska
B) Rhode Island
C) Iowa
D) Vermont
Answer: D. Vermont taxpayers received $635 million in refunds in 2010, ranking them last among the 50 states. Alaska ranked 46th, Rhode Island ranked 40th, and Iowa ranked 29th.
2: Tax Time
In 2010, the IRS estimated it would take a taxpayer about how long to complete a basic 1040 tax form?
A) 30 minutes
B) 2 hours
C) 24 hours
D) 72 hours
Answer: C. The instruction booklet used in completing the 2010 form was 295 pages long.
3: We're No. 1!
In 2006 General Electric accountants electronically filed what they believed to be the nation's longest tax return. If printed out, the return totaled how many pages?
A) 850 Pages
B) 4,300 Pages
C) 24,000 Pages
D) 652.000 Pages
Answer: C. G.E. accountants claim to no longer count the pages in their return, but estimate that they break their 2006 record with more paperwork each and every year.
4: Average Joe
What was the approximate average individual 2010 federal tax refund?
A) $150
B) $800
C) $1,135
D) $3,001
Answer: D. 119 million filers received refunds in 2010, after overpaying their taxes by more than $358 billion!
5: Botany ... Why not?
The American Yew is a shrub commonly found on the grounds of federal buildings in Washington, D.C. What is the ironic botanical name for this plant?
A) Deductus
B) Taxus
C) Refundus
D) Auditus
Answer: B. There’s just nothing else we can add to this fact. The answer says it all!
6: Life During Wartime
What 'luxury item' was originally taxed in 1898, at the beginning of the Spanish-American War?
A) Telephones
B) Automobiles
C) Horses
D) Cigarettes
Answer: A. During times of war, excise taxes on luxury items were used to fund the battle. Often these taxes would stop with the end of the war, but in some cases the taxes generated so much revenue that they continued long after. In the case of telephone taxes enacted during the Spanish-American War, the IRS finally suspended collecting this tax in 2006.
7: Commander in Cheap
Most tax forms ask if the filer wants to contribute $1 to a Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Out of 142 million filers in 2010, approximately how many agreed to the dollar donation?
A) 1,000
B) 1,000,000
C) 14,000,000
D) 65,000,000
Answer: C. Approximately 10% of filers donated to the fund in 2010.
8: Make No Mistake
Most Americans complete their tax forms electronically. Taxpayers who file paper forms have an error rate of 21%. Those who file electronically tend to be more accurate. What is the rate of error among those who e-file?
A) 0.5%
B) 3.2%
C) 8.8%
D) 10.5%
Answer: A. Good thing most Americans file electronically. In 2010 nearly 70% of all filings were done online.
9: They Taxed That?
History has shown that governing bodies will tax just about anything. Which of the following was never taxed, at least as far as we know?
A) Beards/Facial hair
B) Socks/Stockings with holes
C) Bachelors
D) Closets
Answer: B. In 1698, Peter the Great taxed his Russian subjects for having beards. The state of Missouri levied a tax on bachelors in 1820. Before the American Revolution, Great Britain taxed American homeowners by the room. Closets were considered rooms, so many homes of that era were built without them.
10: Millionaires
Approximately how many tax filers claimed adjusted gross income of more than $1,000,000 in 2008?
A) 1,000,000
B) 323,000
C) 88,000
D) 3,500
Answer: B. There are millions of millionaires in America, but only 323,067 actually earned a million bucks in 2008. California claims almost 14% of this group, with more than 44,000 people earning seven figures.
