Even most Americans struggle to understand this actually. It shocks me at the amount of Americans that still think the government is gifting them money at tax t

Even most Americans struggle to understand this actually. It shocks me at the amount of Americans that still think the government is gifting them money at tax time. No it is like buying a stick of gum at the gas station, you give the cashier a $10 and he gives you $8 back. That $8 isn't a gift, the cashier was giving you back money you gave him that you didn't owe. The majority of tax refunds are exact this, a refund of your own money that the government took from you, and is now giving back to you without paying interest for holding it for ~1 years