Income Taxes - Not Always Appetizing

It's that time of year here in the US. The deadline for filing and paying income taxes is a week from today. Did you know that we are considered the only country that has voluntary income tax? I didn't, either. But, that's what we were told during training when I started working for the IRS in 1983.


Since I don't really know how taxation works in other countries, I can only assume that they mean that they leave the ultimate declaration of income received to us, the taxpayers. Yet, if we don't make that declaration, two years down the road they will run reports showing who received income compared to who reported income. At that point, it will no longer be voluntary. So, even though I enjoyed my years with that organization, I'm still at a loss how mandatory taxation is voluntary.


But, I'm actually working with a tax preparation company this year. I'm enjoying it, although some aspects of the more complicated returns can be extremely confusing. It's a challenge. The simple returns are fun to do because they're quick, but those long form returns - wow! There's so many twists and turns that are just so easy to miss. I can definitely understand the appeal of a flat tax.


So, this post is a food-free post, I'm afraid. Besides, isn't the mere idea of doing your taxes enough to lose your appetite??