While I’m not attending a tax day tea party today, I’ll certainly drink a cup of tea in honor of the idea.

The topic of taxes comes up about this time every year, and every y ear I grovel at the fact of actually writing the check.  I don’t mind paying taxes; I understand their value.  After all, someone has to pay for the highway system, post office, etc.  Services we all use.

It’s what my tax dollars are used for that really chaps my hide. Hearing about all the wasteful spending that’s going on in Washington, the bailouts, the TARP, the budget.  Yeah, I don’t mind paying taxes, but spend my money wisely, damn it!

And simplify the code!

After this years tax season I’m more adamant than ever about simplifying the tax code.  In my opinion, the whole thing needs to be scrapped.  Get rid of it.  Burn it.  Shred it.  I don’t care, just don’t use it any more.

We have to simplify the system; be it through a FairTax, a flat tax…  To consider either one of those ideas is a start.

Our current code is over 65,000 pages in length.  There is no way any citizen of this great country can be expected to read, understand and comply with this garbage every year.  It’s no wonder so many people are paying someone else to prepare their taxes.

It’s also no wonder that even our politicians can’t even get their taxes right.

I’m not giving them a pass, and I believe a number of them are willfully cheating the system, and they should be held accountable.

I’m a big fan of Glenn Beck’s program, as I think he provides a sensible voice of reality to today’s issues.  And I don’t think I could have made a stronger argument for a new tax code any better than in his “The One Thing” segment below.

Happy tax day.  And enjoy your tea!

Taxes Fair Tax, Flat Tax, Glenn Beck, tax code, Taxes, Tea Party

The returns are in, and again, it’s not pretty.  All told, I owe just shy of $3,000 to the local and federal government, of which $2,400 of that goes to the IRS, headed by Tim Geithner who can’t even pay his own taxes.

I’m disappointed that even after having both our employers withhold the maximum amount allowable (i.e. claiming zero dependents on the W-4 form), having a whopper of a loss in the market last year, that I still end up owing a bunch of money to the federal government.

What irritates me the most though, is not so much that I owe money, it’s knowing that the money I send the government is pissed away by the inefficiencies and reckless spending in Washington.

Face it, there are government programs out there that we all benefit from and consequently should be required to pay for.  The interstate highway system, the postal system, etc.  I have no problem funding those types of programs.  It’s the bacon museum on the East coast that cost us, the taxpayers over $2 million, and all the other useless and wasteful crap that our politicians float into bills that evidently aren’t even read before they’re voted upon.

In all, I paid my home state just over $300, the state which I own rental property just $41, and the state in which I own oil production just under $100.  Effectively, it seems that my state tax obligations are well appropriated throughout the year through monthly deductions and tax payments… it’s just the federal money that’s stuck in my craw.

Maybe I should just jump on the Ed Barnett bandwagon and politely decline to pay taxes this year…

Taxes Ed Barnett, Taxes, Tim Geithner

There are several parts of the calendar year I particularly enjoy, and others I bemoan.  This is one of those times of year I’m really not partial to.

Tax Season.

I really don’t like tax season.  It seems I pay through the nose during the year, and then end up writing a big fat check in the first part of March.

Why March? I thought taxes were due in April?

They are.  Unless you file a corporate tax return.  A Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), an S-corp, a C-corp…  Due on March 17th of this year.

The crux of that is that while corporate returns are due on March 17th (usually the 15th, but the 17th this year due to a weekend and a holiday), personal taxes are still due in April, even if you file corporate taxes.

The problem I always have is that while it’s much easier to file both personal and corporate taxes all at the same time, many of the documents required for a personal return don’t show up until the 11th hour.

For instance, the form 1099 won’t even leave TD Ameritrade until February 15th.  This doesn’t give my CPA much time to fill in all the blanks.

And then there’s the leg-work on my end.  I usually try to keep everything organized throughout the year so that by February, I just have to dump everything in a big envelope and ship it to the tax preparer.  That never goes as smoothly as one might think, and there are always documents to scrounge up and balance sheets to print out, oil and gas production to total and depletion numbers to calculate.

All this frustration and work just to find out I owe Uncle Sam an extra three grand.

With that, look forward to a few more posts on taxes, in particular corporate taxes and many of the tools to get you by for another year.

Taxes corporate taxes, Taxes