Tax Time...Again

Photo Credit: Don DeBold

American is a "free" country, but it does not mean it is free to live here. Running the government, keeping us safe, and maintaining our vast infrastructure takes a lot of cold, hard cash from hard-working people. I don't mind paying my fair share of the costs of running the United States, but I do object when this money is wasted. Basically, many of us work four months a year just to pay our part.

I consider myself an astute shopper. I look around for the best deal, take advantages of bargains, and even use coupons. I closely watch the price of gas and will go a few extra miles to save a few cents per gallon. I turn down the thermostat, turn off lights when I am not in the room, and do all of my home maintenance - from painting the house to cleaning out the gutters (an iffy task for someone with vertigo). I mow my own grass, grow vegetables, and wash my own car. My computer is 7 years old and I bought it on sale. I go into a deep depression when I have to pay to fill up the fuel oil tank.

I would never pay $500 for a hammer, a half-million dollars for a Space Shuttle toilet, or a million plus for a cruise missile, but Uncle Sam does. I would buy the hammer at Sears, pee outside the Shuttle, and hold off on those missiles. We need to stop buying stupid, poisoned toys from China and start playing with our kids. Now that we are entering a recession and the stock market is plummeting, it is time for our government to tighten their belts, too. We need to stop borrowing money from the Saudis.

Thanks in part to our current administration, we are several trillion dollars in the hole. People are losing their jobs...their homes...and their patience. Our Interstate highways have potholes and bridges are falling down. I have considerably less money in my retirement account than I had last year, which is really ticking me off. I estimate that I will have to work several more years longer now. It seems that the government may be hoping I will work 'til I die so as to not use any Social Security. Man, I have a lot of stuff I want to do before I check out of this life. I sure do not want to die of old age while looking in someone's ear!

I keep careful tax records, especially my charitable donations. Every year I expect to be audited again by some ruthless, pencil-necked, thick-glassed, IRS agent. The last time I was audited about 15 years ago, I ended up paying about $60 more. Talk about squeezing a guy! Since that time, they have left me alone.

I gave up doing my own taxes years ago. They are much too complicated and I tend to add things up incorrectly. Of course, my tax accountant isn't that careful, either. He has made major mistakes three years in a row. Little does he know that last year was the last time he will see me. I am getting someone else - hopefully, someone less expensive and someone who does it right. Of course, when he informs me that I still owe even more money to the State and Feds, I am not going to be a happy taxpayer.

I have huge boxes of receipts that I will soon be sorting all over my spare bedroom. I use Quicken to keep track of checks and credit card payments, but I do not have the stomach to print out that 30 page, end-of-the-year report. It is just too heartbreaking to see where it all went. I am going to see that I ate thousands of dollars worth of groceries and spent thousands more on gasoline. I am going to see a grand total for all of the crap my wife buys (I have a sub-account with that title).

I would really vote for a GST (General Sales Tax) instead of having the IRS. Yes, things would cost more up front, but we would not have this April chaos. In New Zealand, you pay $3.00 for a widget, not $3.00 plus 24 cents tax. You pay the 24 cents, I am sure, but it is built in to that three bucks. Not only is that more simple, guys don't have to walk around with a pocket of loose change banging against our gonads. I could finally cash in my change jars. I bet I have a few hundred dollars in an old tongue depressor jar on my shelf.

With the GST, there would be no IRS agents and no tax forms to file every year. You won't have to pay someone else to tell you how much you have to pay. You would take more money home in your paycheck. And finally, because things will be more expensive up front, maybe you will think twice if you really want or need it.

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