At some time in our future history America will
figure out how to celebrate its people and nurture the loyalty which already
floods the nation. Ours is a society of volunteers; we give our ideas and labor
and energy and love freely. Oh sure there are the darker souls who take. But
they are more than compensated by the givers.
Problem is there are those in policy positions in our
government who don’t believe any of this. Take the IRS for example. It’s pretty basic: they don’t trust American
citizens, the taxpayer. They assume each
of us is trying to cheat the government.
I think they are wrong. I think most taxpayers pay their
taxes with a certain amount of pride. Oh sure, they see the rules and
procedures as unfriendly. The tax forms have a demanding tone to them. They
word things oddly, even arcane, making clear meaning difficult. They may feel
uneasy as they work their way through the prodigious numbers, inching toward
the bottom line – the amount they owe!
But once that figure is on paper, most of us sit back and
mutter – “that’s not so bad.” And I’ll bet most also ponder the value of the
taxes paid and what we get for them.
Pretty good value, really. One of the best countries in history;
inventive, innovative, generous, brave and principled. We get good education,
strong national defense, and usually an economy that is resilient to change.
Nope; good value. Free people. Freedom of choice. Freedom to pursue happiness
wherever it may be found.
Until, that is, you run into the IRS in a technicality even
they cannot explain.
The problem, I think, is the taxing authority granted to
Congress. They balance the budget and make the tax laws to generate the revenue
to pay the bills of the US
government. Unfortunately Congress cannot administer its own affairs, let alone
something as complicated as the IRS Tax Code. So they assign administrative
authority to the IRS and allow them to make the rules and regulations and
procedures needed to collect the taxes.
Along the way Congress has weakened its thoughts about the
tax code and adjusts it. Tweaks it. Adds loop holes to aid friends. Protect
favored industries. Fund pet projects. Whatever. They muddy the waters and make
the complex hellishly more so. And the IRS is asked – assumed, demanded – to
carry out the onerous task of making sense of the hell hole of regulation and
tax forms.
Trouble is the taxpayer has been forgotten in all of this.
To be sure the taxpayer has not been forgotten as the payer of taxes, no; just
forgotten on being able to understand the tax forms and the mental gymnastics
needed to figure out how to pay the taxes.
Today if you earn wages or salary from a single employer it’s
pretty straightforward; withholding accumulated, and automated payroll and tax
collections via FICA are forwarded for you; you are reasonably OK. But if you are an entrepreneur and run your
own business, or are self employed, or have any other investments of note from
which you garner a portion of your living, watch out! Life has become very much out of the
ordinary.
Funny. A nation that prides itself on entrepreneurialism. A
nation that prides itself on take charge individualism. Does not know how to
deal with taxation fairly and simply. Doesn’t know how to trust those folks.
Makes the tax paying process horrid.
And who has the authority to accept the interpreted facts of
your case? The IRS whose sole purpose is to collect as much money as they can
from as many people as they can. And simplicity foils this goal. Their answer
is to make the process so complex that only they can figure it out. They don’t
even allow court cases. They are the adjudicator of their own web!
I know this from personal experience. And I’m open enough
and humble enough to let it all hang out if you care to learn more. But here’s
the short version:
I got sick: heart, lung, smoking and alcohol cessation. Very
sick. Carried on my business. Activity and revenue down. Large medical costs. Funded
my disability and unemployment without help from state and federal programs. Health
prognosis was not good and I simplified my affairs. I paid down debts so I
could live on a small income. Filed for social Security Benefits and Medicare.
I survived a five year period. That’s longer than I thought I had left. Had
neglected to file taxes during this period because I couldn’t handle the stress
and didn’t have money to pay for professional taxpayer help. But I notified IRS and worked out the details, filed
all five years of taxes, paid what was owed for all tax years. Unfortunately, the SEP-IRA cash-in was
taxable even though I had paid more of my disability and unemployment costs
than the taxes I owed on the SEP-IRA.
That didn’t matter to the IRS. They still wanted their money.
I agreed to pay them $50 per month for the rest of my life
to pay something I didn’t owe in principle. The IRS will get their money at the time of my
death from the equity in my car and home although both are valued less than the
outstanding loan balances. They will lose in the long run unless the real
estate market makes a stunning recovery before I die.
Now skip to 2010 tax year: I owed very little in taxes
because I earned a pittance from my dying business and the rest from Social
Security. For 2011 I paid less on less income. But the IRS claims I
miscalculated and owe more on self employment income – a figure half of the
previous year. So less income, more tax. Doesn’t compute in my mind. But this
is the IRS. And they say, I have to pay up before 30 days or my previous tax
agreement is caput!
So the power play. Of
course I paid what they claimed. I don’t have funds to hire someone to fight it.
The amount they want is the equivalent of one month’s food budget. In a stalled
economy. But hey, this is the IRS, not Congress. The two do not speak to one
another or monitor the fall-out of their decisions.
I’ll pay for two reasons. First, it manages my stress to a
tolerable level. Second, I support my nation right or wrong. I just don’t have to be silent about it.
Sometime in the future, you and I will band together and
make Congress simplify the tax code so it can be paid easily and fairly. And reasonably.
With the reduced middle class standard of living, this needs to be done sooner
rather than later. Or there won’t be anyone at home to pay. An emasculated
taxpayer nation.
Sooner rather than later? When will Washington DC
June 17, 2012
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