Tag: IRS

A Taxing Season Til April 15th

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A Taxing Season Til April 15th

April 15th is fast approaching

April 15th is only a month away. I find myself  wondering if I should attempt to do it myself or just call a CPA.

April 15th, Looming Large

In case anyone has forgotten, income tax returns are due in just over a month. April 15th is looming large, as they say. It is not that www.calamitypolitics has that many deductible expenses, but that is only because I haven’t figured out how to deduct my daily double Caramel Mocha or my mani-pedis. Maybe I should consult Ivanka on that.

To Deduct, Or Just File Away

Sorting, ironing and filing

I have been busy, sorting, ironing and filing receipts, getting ready for tax deadline

Over the last week, I have been sorting, ironing and filing receipts. Typically I toss most of my Calamity Politics tax receipts into my car’s glove box. I find if I crumple up every receipt really small I can fit a lot of them in the glove box. Any overflow goes in to the bottom file drawer in my home office. The only problem comes at the end of the tax year when I have to get out the ironing board and iron those crumpled receipts flat.

Tax Year and a Standard Year

My son keeps telling me there is no difference between a ‘standard year’ and a ‘tax year’, both are 365 days long. Well, I don’t believe it; I see it as just more government distortion. It feels as if the tax year is actually 9 months long, or 270 days. It is like a time morph for the muddled, and the disorganized.  I’m sure this phenomenon is a real knee-slapper for those at the IRS. The government’s artificially shortened year, combined with the recent tax changes has admittedly added to my tax preparation anxiety.

Call a Friend

I figured I am not the only one with tax deduction stress so I called on my friend and fellow writer Wes Hessel to come up with some help for me and other befuddled American tax payers. Check out what he learned and is now sharing with us.

D. S. Mitchell

A Taxing Season Til April 15th

By Wes Hessel

Facing The Inevitable

They say that only two things are certain: death and taxes; while some may prefer death over doing their taxes, there are gratis resources that can avoid your considering 1040 to be a four-number word.

Land Of The Free

A Google search for “free tax help” (YSRMV – Your Search Results May Vary) yields multiple options for Federal tax return tools that are credible:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/

https://www.taxact.com/

https://www.taxslayer.com/

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There Is One Born Every Minute

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There Is One Born Every Minute

Trevor K. McNeil

Is There Really an ‘American Dream’?

The promoted mythology holds that anyone in the United States can achieve greatness through vision, persistence and hard work. Sadly, as Hunter S. Thompson bluntly put it after narrowly losing his run for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado “I,unfortunately proved what I set out to prove … that the American Dream really is f**ked.’

One of the great myths of the ‘American Century’ is that of the ‘Self-Made’ man. Statistics counter that claim, suggesting almost no one born poor in this country ever achieves staggering wealth; and those who do rarely achieve it by ‘hard work’ within the established system. Think lottery.

Donald Trump first hit the national radar during the glitzy big hair days of the 1980’s and 1990’s.  It began slowly, with small mentions in the gossip columns of Palm Beach and New York. By the end of the 90’s Trump had become a staple in New York society columns and the tabloids. In fact, the tabloids and reality TV created the Donald Trump persona we know today.

Everything was over the top for the future president. He had a big airplane with the Trump name emblazoned on its side. He was a billionaire businessman playing himself on a weekly reality TV series. Being seen at the right places with a harem of plastic barbies on his arm came easy and he did it all with a  Gordon Geko-esque swagger (ask your parents).

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