Taxes!

Yes, it is the other thing that is inevitable. I sat down for several hours over the weekend to complete my Federal and Maryland taxes. This is never a fun task, particularly when you realize that you need to send yet another check to Uncle Sam. At least now I am a wage earner, so my taxes are relatively easy.  Every time I write those big tax checks on April 15, though, I question whether I should have called my friends at for professional tax preparation.

Even with my hefty annual tax bill, I realize that it could be worse—and it likely will get worse no matter who wins the upcoming election! We simply do not have the answers—or the political courage—to cut government spending without making it hurt too badly. I do have to say that you would think that we could at least come up with a way to make the pain a little easier.  

After years of owning my own business, I am relieved that I only have to do this once per year. As a small business owner, I had to file and pay monthly estimated state and federal taxes, pay self-employment tax, unemployment compensation insurance (a tax in reality), collect and pay withholding for my employees, issue 1099s for various entities to which I paid over $600 during the year, and complete the onerous Schedule C.  And that was for a business without having to deal with inventory and collection and payment of sales tax! No wonder we see so many vacant storefronts. It is hard enough for small business owners as it is. Taxes, and numerous other regulations, make it tremendously more complicated.

I don’t want to even get started on other business regulation, but the regulation within our own personal lives is growing more than we even realize. Nearly everything that we buy nowadays has to be “approved” or otherwise regulated by state or federal government. Some good, some not so much. We’ve seen recent stories in the news about schools rejecting the home-packed meals for kids.  Yesterday I heard a local radio program about the health problems caused by “Smart Meters” that are forced upon homeowners by their local governments and/or power utilities. Cities have been overcharging water bills for years. I’ve got to buy expensive and hard-to-dispose--of light bulbs.  My back yard is a swamp in order to protect the adjacent “Forest Conservation Area.”  The list seems endless, and is growing.

Am I alone in wanting life to be a bit simpler? Even my pea brain tells me that reducing some of the administrative burden will save us all some money—and reduce my taxes!  Instead of the ill side-effect of many well-intentioned government programs, I can think of one great ancillary outcome—more freedom for all!