Posted on 04/15/2014 5:09:17 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
I had the same thought...the letter almost says “I am old and vulnerable, so go ahead and audit, steal, or malign my reputation and my money”
Like Dick Cheney, he’s a National Treasure.
I’ve done my own tax returns since my dad taught me how to fill out the 1040EZ back in 1961 when I earned a few hundred dollars at a summer job and had a small refund due me. I did them by hand for years, then switched to TurboTax about 15 years ago. I buy their audit insurance every year from them which means they will defend my return to the IRS and I will never had to meet with the IRS and they pay any fees, fines or taxes I may owe, if audited. The hardest part of doing your taxes is gathering all of your numbers and paperwork. The easiest part is to enter that information into the software. I never understood paying someone else money to do what I can essentially do myself.
But I have to agree with Rumsfeld. I too am a college graduate and spent years as an underwriter in the mortgage banking business where I had analyze prospective borrower’s tax returns to ascertain their income. But I never know for sure whether I have done my return properly, even though TurboTax performs error and audit checks several times before I file the return. I’ve never been audited in 52 years. I hope that track record continues into the future.
The tax system needs a major overhaul but good luck with that, when we have such divergent ideas from both political parties as to what should be done, if anything.
AGREED!!
I sure agree with you. I loved his book.
That was my first thought as well.
You file taxes with the paperwork you have, not the paperwork you might want or wish to have at a later time…
The IRS knows that if Elijah Cummings says "jump" that they must say "how high?"
It's all about Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.
And, I’ve heard that if you rely on information from an IRS rep on the phone, that you can still be held liable for errors.
I’ve heard that you need to get tax advice/interpretations of laws and regulations, in writing, from the IRS to be able to defend yourself against an audit of certain things. Someone correct me if I’m mistaken in that. If true, it is maddening, because it means you can’t get clarification without jumping through lots of hoops.
The IRS and the tax code are a convoluted contraption of reeking garbage which they pull right out of thin air.
If line 72B is more than 1000 and line 26C is less than 38k, subtract 2, add 54k, subtract 52, multiply by 300k and divide by 120. If you or your spouse eat chicken 3x per week or less, check mark box 261 and send the rest to the IRS. If you feel you did not pay enough, add more.
Sign under penalty of perjury.
What an outstanding MAN! I just said about the same thing today.
This is what makes me sweat bullets even when I document each and every thing, tell my accountant to be very conservative and still feel like I screwed up! I have no idea if my tax return is correct!
You have 10 CPAs do a simple 1040 for a W-2 wage earner and you will get 10 results.
It is indeed a sorry state of affairs isn’t it?
The tax code is the special weapon of politicians to punish enemies and favor friends. It is all but expressly subject to interpretation.
The perversity of our tax code can be summed up as:
Concentrated benefits to the few in the short term, paid for by dispersed costs to the many in the long run.
A lobbyist’s dream.
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