Taxes… Late Again!

Well, it is that time of year again and as has unfortunately become an annual tradition we have filed an extension on our taxes. I was really hoping to get them done on time this year and had even lined up a new accountant but, with everything that has transpired over the last few months, it just wasn’t going to happen before the deadline. While I have much of the material and receipts set aside for this endeavor, I still need to print out a swath of statements and organize the mountain into the different deduction categories. It is definitely an undertaking that I am still not looking forward to.

The real issue that I am finding now is in the upcoming schedule that doesn’t seem to have too many free moments available to get the work done. Well, at least the next couple of months as the summer should provide enough time to pull everything together. This is a real issue, on the one hand I don’t want to spend the hours preparing the paperwork while on the other I really don’t want to give the government more money than I have to give them. After all, we are the ones that had to work for the money.

However, this rather large dilemma is actually proving to be a good thing as it is forcing me to take the tax proposals on the table by the various presidential candidates into more serious consideration. Essentially, this eliminates those whom I have already seen as a detriment namely both Democrat candidates. Basically, I have to look at what kind of financial position I will find myself in should Trump, Cruz, or Kasich take office. Well, at least what is being proposed… I won’t fully believe any of the ‘plans’ until they are implemented. And, let’s be honest, Kasich is done so I am going to focus on Trump and Cruz.

Simply put, you can go with an overhauled 10% flat tax as proposed by Cruz or a simplified graduated tax rate starting with those earning more than $25,000 ($50,000 for married couple filing jointly). For one, a flat tax is something that is manageable across the board and eliminates much of the overhead associated with the tax system (i.e. it would cut government spending) while a revised system would reduce the tax revenue while doing nothing to reduce the burden of associated overhead. Contrary to what many would want you to believe, the flat tax is sustainable and a sensible approach. Plus, I really don’t have a lot of confidence in someone proposing a tax structure when they themselves have spent years paying as little as possible while declaring bankruptcy many times over.

So, in the end, my support of Senator Cruz has been reaffirmed. It has been a long road getting here (he is the third candidate that I have decided to back) but we are now at the point when he is the one candidate that makes sense to me. Additionally, I like his decision to name a running mate in Carly Fiorina who brings a more moderate voice to the ticket as well as a long track record of executive business experience. Now all we can do is wait and see how the remaining primaries play out and what kind of contest we have during the national convention. It will certainly be interesting.

Six Months Later… Taxes

We were a little busy earlier in the year and while it has been a long time coming and many hours sitting at my desk, our taxes are finally done! It should be no surprise that after having printed out all our statements and highlighting our expenses I ended up with a packed well over a hundred pages thick. Not the biggest and not the smallest pile that we have handed off to our accountant. Of course, unlike last year, I did pull aside most of the 2015 documents needed for April… maybe next year we can simply file our taxes rather than an extension.

However, while I am hopeful for a small refund (even with this administration), it is little relief considering the bill that we will have to pay for having our taxes prepared. It is a flat rate but a rather steep one and it will take a pretty hefty sum to balance out that particular expenditure. By the time all is said and done, like every other year, I really have to take a closer look at the proposals for a simplified tax code rather than the hieroglyphics currently in use.

I believe this is a great time to start reaching out to the brethren and finding someone with whom I can trust our financial information. The place that we currently use definitely served its purpose for a while but the friend of the family that once handled our returns has long since retired and we have been passed around annually since then. They are strictly a service firm at this point rather than a place where there is a personal connection… time to move on.

It really is amazing when you think back on how long it takes to pull everything together especially when it is done in one shot rather than slowly over the course of the year. Well, it is a long process for me as I prefer to itemize all of our expenses especially the outrageous amount of medical expenses for which we are now responsible… thanks Obamacare! We could just file a simple return but why simply surrender part the money we earned over the past year? After all, the government didn’t temp for me during the year to take the day off so why should I pay them more?

In the end, the most important thing for us, especially now, is that this can now be marked as complete and we can devote our focus on many more important things in our life… especially the little stinky one. It is just annoying when tasks such as this occupy so much of my time, time that can be better spent elsewhere. Hopefully this is something I can avoid next year now that I have all the supporting documents up to date and an office is some kind of order even though it may not fit the definition of being organized.