2015-03-14

Taxing

A person attempting to read the entire U.S. Tax Code faces a daunting task.

Much more daunting than attempting to read the entirety of the Christian Scripture, for instance.

Admittedly, most citizens of the U.S. are in a category which allows the taxpayer to read the instructions for Form 1040, followed by the instructions for Schedule A and a handful of related documents...or to trust the computer wizards who created TurboTax.

Still, there can be surprises for people who aren't well-versed in the tax code.

Gifts, inheritance, basis points, self-employment taxes, married-filing-separately or married-filing-jointly, ...and the tax-that-was-not-called-a-tax for people who fail to purchase health insurance.

It's a mess.

I'll keep on reading the Bible. And I'll try to keep an eye on the tax code.

But I'll note that it's very hard for mis-interpretation of the Bible to lead to jail terms and hefty fines.

And that if I get bad advice from a tax preparer or an employee of the Internal Revenue Service's help-desk, I am considered at fault.

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