I just offloaded Earl’s and my taxes to our accountant’s shoulders, and it feels really good. I’d spent the past couple months plowing through receipts of all sizes, retrieving tidbits of information, waiting for 1099s to come in. We’re nowhere near being a paperless family; but at least the annual paper hunt is over for this year.
The burden rests on Accountant Jim.
It’s not that I have extra time on my hands; but nevertheless I decided to search the Internet for appropriate sayings about taxes. Believe it or not, our very own government offers a potpourri of sayings, not all of which are serious and didactic. (Only a few!)
On the didactic side (Remember who’s sponsoring the sayings here.), none other than the renowned Justice of the Supreme Court Oliver Wendell Homes, Jr., said, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” And former President James Madison said, “The power of taxing people and their property is essential to the very existence of government.”
But irs.gov has a sense of humor too. Also posted on the site, were the following sage comments by a broad spectrum of tax-paying American citizens.
“I am proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is – I could be just as proud for half the money.” said Arthur Godfrey, an entertainer whose name probably doesn’t ring a bell with younger generations, but who had quite a following in his day. Just ask Julius LaRosa.
“People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women.” said Unknown, who most likely was a woman.
“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” noted physicist Albert Einstein, who certainly cannot be called a scientific slacker. Then there’s humorist Gerald Barzan who added, “Taxation with representation ain’t so hot either.”
So it goes. Death and taxes remain the only certainties and even death got a reprieve with a comment from humorist Will Rogers when he said, “The difference between death and taxes is death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.”
Leave a Reply