Taxing taxes

There seems to be some importance attached to taxes, midst all of the hurrah of election politics.  Someone pays too much, someone else pays too little.  Did this company pay no taxes?  There must be something sinister going on then.  Even more sinister, why won't this candidate show us all of his tax returns?  Did you know that he has accounts in the Cayman Islands and in Switzerland?  That surely must be nefarious!

As one of our most distinguished jurists once wrote in  1947 that "there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible"  This, of course presupposes that there are equally valid alternative ways of completing your tax return.  This also applies whether you are a person or a corporation.

So, did this corporation break the law when they paid no taxes in 2011?  That's for the  IRS and the court to decide.  Could they have legally paid no taxes?  Yes, of course.  With the verbose, convoluted mess that is our tax code, this is more than possible.  All of the things that irritate us, the no taxes for corporations, the limited or no taxes by wealthier individuals, the money sheltered overseas by both corporations and individuals are all legal by our tax code.

The question you should be asking is not, how much tax did this person or company pay?   Rather, the question is, who made this stinking mess of a tax code?  The answer to that is, of course, the Congress we keep electing.  Could our tax code be made more equitable, less regressive and simpler?  I would like to believe that it could.  But, it will not happen until we get a new attitude in Washington, D.C.

The elections are coming!

A good friend of mine posted a poignant complaint on Facebook.  In her post, she lamented the cruelty of so much of what passes for political dialog in this country. And, she was especially upset about the treatment of President Obama.  I do not know who will win the election in November--I am not yet certain who I will vote for.  But, of this I am certain, whoever is elected will face a formidable task and will work very hard to do the best that they can.  I may not be happy with the choices I currently have but they are who they are.  President Obama has tried to solve the problems we face--with scant help from Congress, I might add.  If Romney is elected, he will have the same problems to face and same immature Congress to deal with.  President Obama, if he is re-elected, will still face problems as well, with the additional handicap of being in his second term and thus more marginalized as he serves.  People, if you are upset with the state of our country, realize two things.  First the problems are due more to Congress than they are to the President.  And, second, we keep re-electing the same people who got us into this mess and responding to their negative ads and polarization techniques.  We are responsible for this Congress.

One of life's little secrets is to find something that gives you peace and relaxation when life hands out stress pills.  I am lucky enough to have two of these; reading and knitting.  Reading is for when I am by myself, knitting for when I am with others.

Whatever

Laugh and the world laughs with you.  Laugh manically for no apparent reason and they will leave you alone.