Tax time

I am by nature a PROcrastinator. The PRO is capitalized because I consider myself a professional procrastinator. I assume whoever is supposed to pay me for procrastinating is just slow with the payout. I'm willing to wait. It is April 10th and I started working on my tax returns today. You may think I'm early since there is a week to go. Trust me, it will take most of the week and it will not go in the mail until the last possible moment. I'm not one of those people who rushes to get their taxes done because they are getting a big refund. When I am done I will be sending the government a nice check. I'm sure they will spend it on something important that will improve the lives of my fellow citizens or feed some poor destitute soul or perhaps fund research to find a cure for cancer. A big part of my brain knows that all of those things are probably not how my taxes will be spent. Please let me have my Pollyanna moment. We all need to suspend reality from time to time.

The thing that frustrates me the most isn't what you might think. I don't care about the large number of people who pay no taxes and in fact get a check from the government. I cannot call it a refund because that would indicate they were getting back money they paid in. I hope someday they make enough money to pay taxes and truth be told I'm sure they want that as well. I'm not upset that the ultra-rich pay less in taxes by percentage than many who are in the working middle class. I don't care that some corporations make big profits and pay little or no taxes. What is my objection? I hate the complexity of the tax code. I hate that it takes me hours to complete forms when in reality it could and should take minutes. I have read books and news articles about tax policy and it seems everyone wants the tax code simpler as long as they don't lose their credit, exemption, benefit, rebate or status in the change. We can't all have what we want. It needs to be simpler. It is hard for people to feel good about a set of laws they cannot understand. It could be easier to understand and it would probably be seen as more fair. Then I could be doing something I like instead of trying to figure out what depreciation schedule applies to a tractor.

Make no mistake I do not object to paying taxes, it is the responsibility of a citizen to provide for the common good. If I have the income I will pay the taxes. The best advice I ever got was don't lie the the IRS or your spouse. Words to live by.