By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… We just filed our taxes for last year. We go to Mesquite, Nevada to do this. When I was the Principal of Moapa Valley High School, I would tell people that having my taxes done in Mesquite gave me another reason to dislike Mesquite, home of the Virgin Valley Bulldogs.
Of course, that was and is a great rivalry. I remember one evening at a Moapa Valley vs. Virgin Valley football game with a full stadium. The CCSD Superintendent was visiting.
He saw the spirit of the game and asked me, “Is this a state championship game?”
I told him, “No! This is much more important than that. This game is for bragging rights at the family picnic. Those boys on both sides of the ball are all cousins.”
However, I digress. I was speaking of taxes and the tax season.
We have had the same wonderful agent from H. and R. Block help us with our taxes for nearly twenty years.
When I say “we” it is not an actually we. My wife does all the hard work of organizing a year’s worth of tax information. We then take it to Mesquite where my wife and our agent, Sandy Edmonds, go through the information. I sit and nod my head occasionally just to prove I am alive.
However, I did comment on the fact that I lost $500 last year on my writing profession. A man has to suffer for his art. How much money do you think Michelangelo made on his paintings?
However, this is the last year I will lose money writing books; for I have a plan. I am going to write under a pseudonym. I believe I will make up a name for myself, something like maybe Stephen King.
Anyway, I had to make one phone call to clarify a sales tax item. Otherwise I was merely there passing the time with stupid thoughts like that one above.
The process the American government puts its citizens through to verify the taxes they have already paid is amazing. The April 15 date for many Americans is refund day. It is the day we discover how much the government has over-taxed us through the year. It is always a relief to find that money is coming back from the IRS rather than having to pay an additional fee. It may be the government’s way of placating the people.
Most of us are so relieved that we have a refund coming, we don’t dwell on the many thousands of dollars it cost each American to enjoy the crumbling infrastructure that is America.
I remember one year when I did not have enough taken from my income over the year and had to pay a penalty. The penalty was not for being late, for I was filing on time. The penalty was for not taking enough out over the year so the government could use my money during the year; even though I didn’t actually owe it to them until April 15.
If you can do your own taxes more power to you. However, the tax deductible preparation by a professional is a great relief. As we moved through Schedule A, B, C, and D I was hoping that we would not get to X, Y, and Z. Even though my wife had all of our information in order it took a professional an hour and half to complete it.
What I find interesting is that the government knows every bit of information that we put on the tax forms to determine our final tax payment. One might believe they could just figure it out themselves and send us whatever they over-charged us in taxes over the year.
Let your heart be still for there is relief in sight. Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz is campaigning on a pledge to make it possible to file your taxes on a post card. Cruz stated that he would eliminate the IRS and the need for companies like H&R Block.
Better yet Bennie Sanders will just have your employer send ninety percent of your pay directly to Washington and then the government will decide what you need. However, you will be able to go to college “free.”
No one asked me but… The race for the Republican presidential nomination just gets stranger and stranger. The two top candidates are down to attacking each other’s wives. One must begin to wonder if there is any sanity left.
A group supporting Ted Cruz released nude photos of Trump’s wife from a professional photo shoot sixteen years ago. These are from her days as a model. Cruz indicates he and his campaign had nothing to do with the release of the photos.
Trump, in retaliation, has threatened to “spill the beans” on Cruz’s wife, whatever that means.
As a non-partisan, I have no particular feelings of support for either of these candidates but what I find interesting is the media coverage of Trump’s reaction and the support for Ted Cruz.
It is very similar to the reaction of the press to Trump when he reacts to left wing fascists who attempt to shut down his campaign speeches. These left wing thugs cause a disruption and Trump becomes the villain when he has them removed and when Trump followers retaliate physically.
Ted Cruz can deny any responsibility for the actions of a super PAC; but he must surely accept the fact that if his supporters attack a man without a super PAC that man himself will retaliate.
Trump threatens to retaliate against Cruz’s wife when Cruz followers attack Trump’s wife. Where I grew up, you attack a man’s wife and the man does the honorable thing and knocks you on your rear.
However, I believe this open season on wives is a carryover from the seven years Michelle Obama has been open game for the right wing fanatics. I just heard a commentator on Fox News decry the fact that the dress Michelle was wearing in Cuba cost 23 times more than the yearly income of the average citizen of that country. What a petty comment! We sold clothes at the Rotary yard sale that probably cost 23 times more than the average yearly income of the citizens of Cuba.
The Democrat candidate will have no fear of this happening to their spouse in the general election. I don’t believe anyone really wants to see nude photos of Bill Clinton.
Thought of the week…“The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”
– Will Rogers
