Taxes Hold 'Em

Tuesday October 7th, 2008 - Chicago, IL

Today wasn’t anything I expected. I had hoped to make a tiny smidgen of progress on at least one of a my dangling projects but that didn’t happen. I was wiped out from all of the running around I did yesterday and slept later than I wanted to but I really need the sleep.

I was awakened by my tax accountant who told me my 2007 return was ready to be sent in electronically but I needed to sign it before he could do that. I’m leaving for some gigs tomorrow and he’s leaving for vacation before I get back so I needed to get it done today.

Living out in the hinterlands like I do makes things like this a huge pain in the ass. I am 45 miles from Milwaukee and Chicago but that means it’s usually a 30-40 mile minimum trip to get anywhere I might need to be. I decided to make the most of my day and get my errands done before I leave tomorrow. I had mail to pick up and dry cleaning to drop off.

Since I was headed downtown anyway I called Jerry Agar and offered to give him a ride home from WLS. I try to do that when I can because it gives us a chance to visit and hang out for a while. He’s busy with the radio and his family and I’m doing whatever it is that I do so it’s kind of a treat for both of us to have a place to sit and talk without interruption.

I stopped at the accountant’s office and signed the papers and it’s always a giant feeling of relief to do that. I know I didn’t try to cheat on them and had receipts for the things that were deductible but I still could have been a lot better with how I organized everything.

If I’m going to make any kind of money at all with Uranus Factory Outlet or any kind of other business I will need to keep spotless records. Period. Not ‘pretty good’ or ‘just OK’. They need to be spectacular. I want the IRS to use my return as an example of excellence.

It’s just smart business to do that. I saw how the IRS can flex their enormous muscles at will when I had to testify in the bank robbery trial. They’re the ones that put him away for the crime of tax evasion. He was never prosecuted for the actual robberies. I got the hint.

Right now I’m a little church mouse just scampering to squeak by every year and that’s what I’ve been most of my life. Even still I’ve managed to get behind on my taxes and be an idiot by not filing or keeping good records but that’s the past. I’m getting a lot better.

Any and all excuses I’ve made until now are not acceptable. Yes I’m left handed and all that goes with it and no I never had any training in business or finances but it isn’t hard to get a receipt or write down EVERY time I spend any money whatsoever and keep doing it for the rest of my life. I don’t have to have this feeling of angst again like I do every year.

It would make it a lot easier if I just divided it up into weekly and monthly records so at the end of the year I can add it up and not worry about it. I always say I’m going to do that but then I always seem to be in this position like I am today of having to hurry to get them finished. I’ve got enough stress without tax angst. Hopefully I’ll learn my lesson for 2009.