The Joker To The Rescue at Tax Time

Tax day is near! Tax day is near!

Imagine Paul Revere riding through the countryside screaming this as a warning! He may as well have we are undergoing the same problem that those colonists had. No, someone in redcoats are not coming, but people honed on redtape are. The Taxman!

Used to be that nothing was sure except death and taxes. Now, it's just death. We are never sure, though, when it comes. We are sure, however, when taxes are due...THURSDAY for those of you who pay them.

I say, "who pay them" because a report released last week showed that only about 47% of you out there actually pay taxes. That means that of the 22 people who actively read my ramblings, about 10 of you don't pay, while the rest of us do. We foot the bill.

But, you say, you do not make enough money or you have enough deductions to get you out of it. PSHAW! Don't get me wrong, I take advantage of all the tax breaks I can get, but there seems to be something wrong with the idea that I make far less money and pay MORE in taxes than I did last year. About twice as much. Last year, my wife's Aunt Dorothy who is 86 and living in assisted living, received money back. This year, she is receiving about 800% percent less!

There are about 565 people out there who make laws and 300 million of us who are expected to follow those laws. How much input did you have? Do you find yourself frustrated with the lack of concern and communication your representative and senator have for your problems? When was the last time their office contacted you and asked for your opinion? What happened to the belief of "No Taxation without Representation?" Are you being represented?

I got two words..."Term limits" Right now, the only member of our government that does have term limits is the Executive Branch. Not the legislative or the judiciary!

Another two words..."Flat Tax" Every corporation, company, person, church, and "non-profit" should pay a fee to the government. No deductions for anything. We all share the same freedoms and protections, we should all pay for them. What if everyone paid a percentage, say 10 percent. Microsoft would contribute a couple bilion, so would McDonald's. Don Shields might contribute a couple grand, while Don Trump a couple million. But the percentage would be the same. Some would cry, "Unfair! You are penalizing me for being successful. Why should I pay more than you? It is not my fault you are too lazy to work and make more money!"

Right now, there are deep inequities within the tax code. Did you know that the directions for the 1040 are actually 100 pages long? And the IRS says that the directions are easy enough for a normal person to do their own taxes. Right. That is why I paid 350 dollars for someone to do my taxes.

To paraphrase the Jack Nicholson's character of the Joker in the first Batman movie, "...this country's tax laws needs an enema!"

Doughnut
P.S. Beware the Ides of April!