Death and Taxes

T

here are, they say, two things certain in this world: Death and taxes. Well, death has certainly been on my mind these past few years, but I only have two parents, so the specter of death should not be bothering be for a while. The taxes is something that I can't avoid year in and year out.

Today is Tax Day. This is perhaps the one day I hate the most. Not because I don't want to pay my share. Taxes are an inevitable contribution to our government which provides the essential serves for an orderly society: police, fire, defense. Of course, everytime I go to the post office, I wonder what the hell I'm paying for. Worse, everytime I have to deal with immigration, I really wonder where my tax dollars are going. As a tax paying, law abiding citizen, I don't need to be hassled by this particular governmental bureaucracy.

Anyway, I hate paying my taxes because it is such a pain in the ass. It doesn't matter if I'm getting a refund or not. Putting all the documentation together and getting it out is simply a hassle. But I must admit that it has gotten a bit easier. There was a time when all this crap was done manually. I am no tax expert, and it would take hours to go through the 1040 instructions, trying to figure out if there was anywhere I could save. Lately, however, tax programs such as TurboTax and TaxCut have made life easier. I know longer have to read and re-read the instructions. These programs ask a series of questions and I answer them. They even tell me what documents I'll need before I start, so when I get everything together, it's really pretty painless.

This year I used H&R Block's TaxCut and it was virtually free. I got the Federal and State verson, their DeductionPro and MS Money. With all the rebates I finally received, the final cost was less that twenty dollars. Even the online filing fee is free. After the IRS accepts my return and sends me an acknowledgement, I send in another rebate form and get reimbursed. With all the legal fees I've been burdened with lately--it's approaching 10G--I can use every break I can get. If anyone wants to make a contribution to the Onigiriman Defense Fund, please feel free. And Tax Day reminds me that all contributions should be in cash.

So have you filed?