Tax Day

8 comments

• FONDL

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  17 years ago

  I've done the same thing I always do - I complete it in pencil (already done), fume for a couple of days (which I'm doing now), then on the last possible day I fill out the forms in ink, write the check (I refuse to give the government an interest-free loan by over-withholding) and mail it in. Then I drink heavily until I'm back to being my normal cheerful self.
  
  I think my problem is that I worked in DC for years and have seen first hand how our money is not only wasted, which isn't too bad, but is spent to pursue all kinds of things to which I'm opposed. I'd rather they just flushed the money down the toilet. I'm convinced that if Americans really understood what happens to their money they'd riot. Fortunately I only have to think about it once a year.
• AbbieNormal

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  17 years ago

  Turbo-tax is my best friend. I usually file ASAP. This year I was busy with other stuff and filed just this week. I go through a portion of the FONDL grumpiness. I always total up everything I paid, estimate some like gas and sales tax, and then thank god I at least live in the US where I can have a high standard of living for the 50% of my income I pay out. I work FOR the government and see two things, how much time and therefore money is wasted on stupid boondogle forms and requirements, and how many stupid things the government spends on in general. It took me two full work days to get into the "automated" travel booking system and book my upcoming travel. It also required several calls to "help desks" to make changes that I could not make, or correct problems intrinsic to the system. That means that little efficiency cost the taxpayers two days of my salary plus a portion of others helping me for what I could have done in 15 minutes on Travelocity while eating my lunch, so yes, I see not only the stupid things the government wastes money on, but the waste in general of a huge bureaucracy where nobody wants to exercise judgement or be responsible. We won't even get into why there was still in 2002 (and for all I know still is) a mohair subsidy, instated so the doughboys in France could have warm sweaters in the trenches.
  
  I would drink, but that would just mean another $4.14 in federal, state and local excise taxes on each 750ml bottle of distilled spirits, $0.36 per six pack of beer, or $0.40 for a bottle of wine (not counting sales tax).
• casualguy

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  17 years ago

  I've been done for over a week. Every year I keep thinking about adjusting my withholding so that my refund is just a tiny amount. I tell myself well 1 percent interest on that amount isn't even enough to pay cover charge for several clubs so I just leave it alone. With the democrats getting back in charge, I expect my taxes to go back up. Probably not a whole lot since I estimated my total tax savings due to all the tax cuts at only $50 the first year of the tax cuts. Therefore, my taxes probably won't change a whole lot unless whoever in office thinks of a new way to screw us all over. I have faith though, we'll get screwed over some way some how.
  
  To top it all off, I heard the IRS doesn't have enough auditors to go after all the people filing phony tax returns and claiming outrageous tax deductions. They need to hire some more to go after most of the outrageous red flags. I suggest complaining to your congressmen. The government estimates the amount of unpaid taxes is about 300 billion dollars. That unpaid money instead gets taxed back against everyone else who does pay. Here's a case where any private business could justify the expense and make money by collecting more than enough revenue. Of course no one likes the IRS anyway.
• AbbieNormal

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  17 years ago

  "Of course no one likes the IRS anyway." Gee, can't imagine why? I get a kick out of this. Everyone complains about telemarketers and credit card companies invading our privacy. Think of how much information you MUST give to the IRS? Name, address, spouse, employer, salary, local taxes, children, medical bills, how much your house is worth, how much you have in investments, the list goes on. Privacy has been dead for years thanks to the federal income tax.
• Clubber

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  17 years ago

  The auto extension is nice, and I almost filed it this year, as in years past. Then I found another $2200 tax I needed to pay. Had I filed the extension, I would have been liable for that money, plus penalties!
• Book Guy

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  17 years ago

  Don't forget the illegal long-distance telephone tax remuneration (line 71, form 1040). Free thirty bucks. :)
  
  I did a moving expenses form for the first time, this year. I don't have much of a complicated tax situation, but I watch in horror as my family deals with seven different accountants, property in three states, all of them hurricane-prone zones with extensions or insurance claims, severan different trust funds, CDs, IRAs, 401-ks, Roth IRAs (can't claim them!), etc. etc.
  
  The most annoying part, is that the accountants whom we hire at about $500 apiece know less about tax laws than we do, and we have to proof all their work for math errors and for mistakes in choosing whether something is "maintenance" or "improvement." (New air conditioner, anyone? Is it amortizable? Etc.)
  
  I sometimes think we ought to just go by the Austrian system. On April 1, they all get a statement from the government that says, "We have deducted X amount from your personal checking account as your annual tax levy. You also owe us $10 for this service, plus ...". Eeeeek ... good little Nazis ...
  
• FONDL

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  17 years ago

  One of the things that upsets me the most about income taxes is that the only people who pay their fair share are those whose income is a matter of record. Eveyone else who works for cash, like strippers for example, pays far less than they should. Which means that those of us who can't get away with such blatant cheating have to pay far more than we should to make up the difference. We should all get some free LDs at this time of year.
  
  AN, I never worked for the government (thank God) but I did work for a DC-based non-profit. For those of you who don't know what a rip-off such organizations are, here's how it works: they get a government contract, then use a lot of the money to lobby the government to increase the funding for their program so their contract can keep growing. The practice is illegal but there are lots of ways they get around that and it's common practice. They contribute next to nothing of value to the public but they suck up huge amounts of tax dollars, and it's growing every year. Makes little difference whether they are liberal or conservative (althought there are more liberal ones) they both do it. And it's outrageous. Non-profits are a major reason why government spending keeps growing.
• FONDL

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  17 years ago

  Say you want to suck on the government tit big-time, here's what you do. You first identify some "problem" which may or may not exist, it doesn't matter as long as you can make up a good story. Next you find some businesses or other nonprofits that will benefit if the government throws money at your problem. Then you form a nonprofit organization of your won with them as your steering committee and you as the well-paid president (actually non-profits usually prefer the name "executive director" which is what I was.) Then you throw a fund raiser for your congressman (which is where your steering committed comes in - they all contribute), you "educate" him and his staff about your problem, and you hire a lobbyist (who has raised money for the congressman and is therefore close to him) to convince him to submit a line item in the appropriate appropriations bill to direct some agency to give you money to study this problem. You take the money (and make sure that some of it indirectly ends up in the congressman's campaign fund), study the problem, and lo and behold you discover that it's a really big problem that the government needs to address. So your congressman ensures that they then give you more money to do so. And you build an organization (including a lobbyist) to do more "research" to ensure that the money keeps flowing your way.
  
  Think this sounds farfetched? It's done all the time, it's how nonprofits routinely operate. There are thousands of nonprofits that do exactly this. And if you don't believe it, look at who does all the studies of the highly publicized issues like global warming, welfare, health care issues, etc., that you read about in the paper or hear about on TV every day. Are the studies done by disinterested third parties or by organizations that have a financial stake in the study results? Do you think it's any different for minor issues that nobody but those with a financial interest care about? Welcome to democracy in action, your tax dollars at work.
  
  And happy tax day.