I Should Be Doing My Taxes

April 14, 2011:  Yes, I SHOULD be doing my taxes...but I just keep putting it off...although I did do the preliminaries, enough to see that I probably owe money...so I am avoiding it in hopes I will discover some loophole before I just go ahead and bite the bullet and pay it. 

Why do I do this to myself every year?  Those W2's have been sitting there in the file folder on my desk ever since January 31st.  I guess I kept waiting for the IRS to mail us the tax booklet with the forms so I could read up on all the changes and figure it all out.  But the book never came...I must've missed the news that said they had gotten too cheap too send them out to everyone.  What about all the people out there who don't have or know how to use a computer to get their forms online?  What about all the poor people (like me) who can't afford to go to one of those places to get their taxes done for them?  Oh, I did that ONCE...you know, the group that tells you that if you get audited they will be there to help you when you face the IRS?  Yeah..that group. Well, I hate to tell you this, but we did get audited that year, and guess what?  That particular group that promised to be there did NOT show up at the audit!  Oh no...they just couldn't make it...and left us sitting there defending ourselves when we weren't the ones who figured out all those "loopholes" on our taxes that got us red-flagged for the audit!  So, from then on I determined that no one else would ever do our taxes for us again! 

So, every year it's the same story...here it is April 14th, and I'm sitting here writing this blog instead of finishing my taxes.  It's called the "avoidance-avoidance" method.  (If you've ever studied psychology you know what I mean).  I know the government in all it's great wisdom has given us an extra three days...I really have until the 18th to get them done...but I know deep inside that they really should be finished and in the mail by tomorrow...that's how I've been indoctrinated over the years, so I am not going to give in to that extension of time because next year they will probably change it back to the 15th and I will be caught off guard. 

I am not saying that I don't believe in paying my taxes...no, I understand that in order to run this great nation someone has to pay....(tongue in cheek)...it's just a shame that the little guys like us have to pay the bulk of it while the big guys send all their money to Swiss Banks and somehow get out of paying for the privilege of living and growing rich here in America... No, I'm just trying to save what few dollars I have left so I can dream about retiring some day,  or visiting my family in New England, or paying my mortgage off before I'm 90. 

Yes, I will finish my taxes on time and I will pay what I owe.  I believe in doing what every good citizen should do.  Besides, even Jesus agreed that we should do our part.  Read what Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 22:21...

"Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 

So, tomorrow I will look over everything one more time, say a big prayer for clarity and loopholes, and then sign, seal, and deliver my tax forms (and my hard earned money) to Caesar,  oops, I mean the IRS. And then I can breathe easily for another year.

Maybe next year I'll get them done on February 1st instead of waiting...Nah...why change now?  I'd feel kind of lost on April 15th with nothing to do... although I could go do something fun instead...treat myself to lunch with the girls or a shopping trip or a trip to the beach....hmmmm...maybe that's not such a bad idea afterall!

Well, Happy Tax Day to you! Good Night!