Tax Day Woes
Bensblurb #539 April 13, 2010
Hope you get past April 15 OK...Meanwhile,
Tax returns are great...for H&R Block: During an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said he uses a tax preparer for his own returns: "I've used one for years. I find it convenient. I find the tax code complex...” So he, like many of us, pays extra just to comply with the law.
Tax day vignette: Mark Ernst, a new top IRS boss, had led H&R Block for years. Now collecting taxes, and next, collecting health insurance premiums?
Maybe we should adopt sort of a poll tax again, where you would get to vote only if you had paid the tax...
“According to the Tax Policy Center, for the year 2009, 47 percent of U.S. households will pay no federal income tax....But at a time of massive increases in federal spending, half the country is effectively making no contribution to it... Half a decade back, it was just under 40 percent who paid no federal income tax.”--columnist Mark Stein
And finally, about the IRS’s new role:
"Do you know who will be in charge of health care? The IRS. You thought getting audited was bad? Wait until your next prostate exam." --comedian Jay Leno
Take another bow: Obama again bowed to China’s Lu, and as one blogger put it, during the nuclear-control talks here, “Obama also bear-hugged that Lula guy from Brazil. If Stalin were alive, Obama would probably give him the full Lewinsky.”
And this from friend Larry Black:
Very important information has just been made public that I think is something you should all be aware of: Gonorrhea Lectim. The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease. Called Gonorrhea Lectim, it's pronounced "Gonna re-elect'im."
And seriously, this advice is passed along by friend and former good Aquia Harbour neighbor Fran Hopkins:
Using credit/debit card? Read this note. I did not knowabout the clear button, but I will be pushing the clear button before I swipe my gas or debit card and after just to be safe.People are getting really desperate due to the constantly rising gas prices. A friend just told me about something that happened to one of his coworkers.She used her credit/debit card to purchase gas at the pump (like most of us do). She received her receipt like normal. However, when she checked her statement, there were 2 $50. charges added in addition to her purchase. Upon investigation, she found out that because she did not press the 'clear' button on the pump, the employee inside the store was able to use her card to purchase his/her own gas!To keep this from happening, after you get your receipt, you must press the 'CLEAR' button or your information will be stored until the next customer inserts a card.--Ben Blankenship
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Hope you get past April 15 OK...Meanwhile,
Tax returns are great...for H&R Block: During an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said he uses a tax preparer for his own returns: "I've used one for years. I find it convenient. I find the tax code complex...” So he, like many of us, pays extra just to comply with the law.
Tax day vignette: Mark Ernst, a new top IRS boss, had led H&R Block for years. Now collecting taxes, and next, collecting health insurance premiums?
Maybe we should adopt sort of a poll tax again, where you would get to vote only if you had paid the tax...
“According to the Tax Policy Center, for the year 2009, 47 percent of U.S. households will pay no federal income tax....But at a time of massive increases in federal spending, half the country is effectively making no contribution to it... Half a decade back, it was just under 40 percent who paid no federal income tax.”--columnist Mark Stein
And finally, about the IRS’s new role:
"Do you know who will be in charge of health care? The IRS. You thought getting audited was bad? Wait until your next prostate exam." --comedian Jay Leno
Take another bow: Obama again bowed to China’s Lu, and as one blogger put it, during the nuclear-control talks here, “Obama also bear-hugged that Lula guy from Brazil. If Stalin were alive, Obama would probably give him the full Lewinsky.”
And this from friend Larry Black:
Very important information has just been made public that I think is something you should all be aware of: Gonorrhea Lectim. The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease. Called Gonorrhea Lectim, it's pronounced "Gonna re-elect'im."
And seriously, this advice is passed along by friend and former good Aquia Harbour neighbor Fran Hopkins:
Using credit/debit card? Read this note. I did not knowabout the clear button, but I will be pushing the clear button before I swipe my gas or debit card and after just to be safe.People are getting really desperate due to the constantly rising gas prices. A friend just told me about something that happened to one of his coworkers.She used her credit/debit card to purchase gas at the pump (like most of us do). She received her receipt like normal. However, when she checked her statement, there were 2 $50. charges added in addition to her purchase. Upon investigation, she found out that because she did not press the 'clear' button on the pump, the employee inside the store was able to use her card to purchase his/her own gas!To keep this from happening, after you get your receipt, you must press the 'CLEAR' button or your information will be stored until the next customer inserts a card.--Ben Blankenship
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posted by Ben Blankenship at
11:08 AM
