| DON’T FORGET TO DO YOUR TAXES © 1998 Joe Murray Hello, everyone. I thought I better remind you that today is tax day. You better get those taxes in the mail before midnight. For all of you scurrying to get your tax returns done at the last minute, I can relate because I often suffer from that common curse known as procrastination. However, I was on the ball this year and finished my taxes early. Based on my predilection to procrastinate, I probably should be sympathetic and say something positive to make filling out your taxes sound better or offer suggestions to speed the process along, but I am not going to do that. I think tax preparation needs to be as unpleasant as possible. Our current tax system is too complicated and the tax rates are at all-time highs. I want everyone to feel miserable and get angry so that we might rise up and force government at all levels to lower taxes and to scrap the current federal tax code in favor of a flat tax. Okay, I am not completely heartless. I will offer this bit of hope for those of you who don’t have your taxes done yet. The IRS estimates that the average 1040 form takes "only" 653 minutes to fill out. If it is prior to noon when you are reading this, don’t sweat. You can start at noon and, if you are "average," you can be done by 10:53 P.M. If you live in an area where the post office stays open late on tax day, you still have an hour to get it in the mail on time. Also, I am sure that all the readers of Sodbuster are above average, so you can get it done a lot faster. Now, for those of us who have our taxes done and waiting for a refund, don’t get excited yet. You might have a surprise in the mail like Lori Marling of Columbus, Ohio recently received. It was a letter from the IRS. When she opened it, she found that she had been sent a bill requiring her to pay additional taxes. In this supposed new era of consumer friendliness at the IRS, they were generous and offered to let her pay off the debt in three easy installments. She would only have to write three small checks of 90 billion dollars each. No, your eyes didn’t deceive you; the bill was for 270 billion dollars. No wonder we have all the politicians talking about balanced budgets and even budget surpluses. Of course, this was a mistake that even the IRS had to admit and quickly remedied. Unfortunately, the IRS makes mistakes like this every day and many of them aren’t caught because they are not outrageous sums that anyone can see is a mistake. Unfortunately, up to a 25% of taxpayers wouldn’t contest a small amount they know to be an overcharge because they are scared of the threats and intimidating style of the enforcement wing of the IRS, which is one of the largest police forces in the world. If you are confused doing your taxes, don’t fear. The IRS hired twelve thousand extra workers to answer tax questions. Your chances of getting help are good. In January and February of this year, there were just six million calls placed to the IRS that didn’t get answered. Then, there were just 2 million four hundred thousand busy signals. Today, it should be a breeze to get help. You might be better off not to get help. Forty-seven percent of calls to the IRS result in incorrect information. The IRS gave a wrong answer 8,500,000 times in 1993. Private, professional taxpayers make just as many mistakes. Realizing that many of you still have to get those tax returns in the mail, I will bring this to an end. If you are having a great time filling out tax forms, then keep the current code. If you would want to spend 5 minutes filling out a flat tax form and save the country 90% of the $134,347,500,000 that the Clinton Administration claims is the cost to the private sector for tax compliance, put the pressure on Congress to adopt a flat tax. Source of statistics: 737,734,941,858 Reasons...and Still Counting: Why a Flat Tax is Needed |
