My employee thinks a tax refund is free money/winning lotto. Do people think this?

I had a conversation today with an employee. I won't get into details, but he thinks that a tax refund is free found money that the fed gov't gives you. Kind of like winning the lotto.

I explained that a tax refund is just money going in circles. You overpaid by withholding too much, the IRS sends you the amount you overpaid. I'm not talking about CTC or EITC just specifically with regard to withholding on your paycheck.

I used an analogy: If your tax liability is $5,000 but your employer withholds $10,000 the $5,000 refund you get is simply what you overpaid. Nope. Nadda. Absolutely not. I could not convince him otherwise. According to him a tax refund is free money.

Do most people think this way? Are they that stupid?