I Just HAD to say, “Taxes” didn’t I
This weekend, I was feeling rather crummy (about as crummy as I tend to feel these days) and I couldn’t sleep so, around 3:30 am on Saturday (actually Sunday morning) I woke up and started doing my taxes. I don’t know what possessed me to do this but I was somehow in the mood, so I went with it.
An oddity about TurboTax is that, apart from the fact that everybody uses it, it keeps this little running total in the upper-right hand corner of it’s main window. You can see how much you owe or, if you are one of the fortunate few, it says something along the lines of, “Current Tax Refund:” and then presents you with an amount, which you’ve probably already spent on ju-ju birds and other delictables. The mind boggles. So, anyway, I set out doing my taxes, while watching the little number pop up and down, inflating itself with every deduction. And, no, in case you are wondering, I did not deduct condoms. The grand total stopped somewhere around $1900 or so, although I’ve still got 1099-DIV forms left. But only about 4 or so, some of which are very small and won’t change my tax outlook all that much. Yes, you read it right. I’m getting a refund.
A few weeks ago, I was watching Squawk Box or some other money-related program on the TV, when I nicely dressed tax expert came on as a guest and started yapping. “Most people can hear about tax refunds and Repubs. lowering taxes until they are blue in the face,” he pontificated, “but they don’t give the ‘oh wow!’ and go out and spend the money until they actually do their taxes and get the refund checks in their grubby little hands.”
“For some reason,” he went onto say, “they hear a lot of hoopla about decreases in taxes but they just don’t think it applies to them. That is, until they get the refund.”
So true. I kept hearing about the lowering of the taxes, but thought it didn’t apply to me because, afterall, I was unemployed for a spell and had some stocks sales, which altered my income. But somehow, through the magic of the tax cutes, I’m on the refund list. Woo hoo! The only thing that could make me happier would be if I thought that this time next year I’d be puzzled, wondering if I could deduct a cabana boy named Sven, implants, and condoms (do they even come with stripes?) Hmmm.
Until next time, this is Carol, the Carol in “Carol’s Little World” signing off.
