Taxes

Ain't nobody stopping these guys from paying more.

If you count it...they will come. (A comic.)  (They = taxman.)

I had an appointment tonight to get our taxes done finally.  Not too bad, although we couldn't claim our college kid as a dependent this year. She turned 24 last year, and even though she only earned half as much with her part time jobs as in previous years, it put her a few hundred dollars over a limit.

(The tax lady did say if a child earns less than thirty-some hundred dollars, they could be 50 years old and still be claimed as a dependent. I told her not even to kid around like that! HeeHee)

Anyhow...the few wasn't bad at all, but it made me think of a story I saw a few days ago. At least I didn't pay $700 to a shady tax preparer:

Taxpayer's story serves as warning | The Journal Gazette

That story in the link is a good example of a case where the tax preparer should be taken to the woodshed (many times) for doing something legally permissible (perhaps) but wrong by any other account.  $700 to do somebodies taxes in 15 minutes. And I thought our local tax lady (H&R Block) was outrageous at $104 for the time involved...30 minutes. But she was actually done in 15, and the rest was answering some of my questions, printing out/signing forms. 

(I figure they are getting paid more than knowledge and training than time. My problem with stuff like this isn't not knowing the right answers....it's not even knowing the right questions to ask in the first place.  If I'd known about the age/income thing with dependents...I could have easily done it myself again.)

Almost everything in that list was "creative", I thought. Most of it should slide under the tax prep category it would seem.

$20 check fee (Check fee? What...they charged somebody to cash a check...or write them a check. Or did they have to "check on something"...and charge for that? LOL)

$39 account processing fee

$24.95 technology fee

$19.90 refund estimate fee (Wow. Good thing they didn't give them a weather forecast estimate!)

$277 tax preparation fee (If it only took 15 minutes...it was a pretty simple return! Way too much.)

$59 for e-filing (I just love this everytime I see it. What's it consist of...hitting the "send" button? This one is better than normal...see "transmission fee" below.)

$81 for bank documents (Don't understand this one at all.)

$17 transmission fee (This is even better than the e-filing fee.  Apparently hitting "send" isn't good enough. Must be a fee to plug in the Ethernet cable so it's able to transmit the data.)

$100 for something called a service bureau fee (This is another mystery.  Maybe they have a bureau at home that needs servicing and repair??)

Technology fee.  Haven't we seen that before?  It just rings a bell.

Didn't some banks, utilities and such start charging that when they started going computerized? 

No need to credit me with giving you the idea. But a 50/50 concept fee arrangement would be nice...

Cool. And I've decided that 50/50 just isn't just. You're having to do all the work...all I did was plan the seed. So...80/20, you're favor is fine with me. 

If you insist. But I'll give it to my favorite charity. 

If these weren't local folks...I wouldn't have gone last year. (And if I hadn't messed up my taxes and owed the IRS big bucks...)

The older gal has been a fixture in the area for decades.  Hmm...you ever watch CSI Los Angeles? She could be a twin of Linda Hunt who plays Hatty.