For the first time in several decades, I actually had to pay taxes this year. I also fell into the curse of the estimated payments due once a quarter. In the middle of a recession it’s hard. There’s good news hidden in all of this….
Business Books Are in Order
I am a stickler about my books, both personal and business. I’ve always had a bookkeeper check my business records before turning them over to an accountant. (It’s cheaper that way.) This year I took the plunge and handed the whole thing over to the bookkeeper. Boy, did that make tax time easier! And, because I review my financial reports on a monthly basis, I knew that it was accurate.
Steady Business Relationships
I’ve been working with both my bookkeeper and my accountant for years. This allows for an in-depth relationship. They know my sordid financial past. The bookkeeper is sorry when I lose a client and jumps for joy when I get one. My accountant works really hard to keep the amount that I actually owe down to what is legally compliant.
Are Business Taxes Fair?
I was at a quilting class recently and the women were moaning about high tax bills and the stimulus package. It feels natural to want to join in, especially as a small business owner. Many small business owners claim that we are unfairly hit with taxes. I’m not sure if that’s true or not because the tax code baffles me. (It’s why I have an accountant…one page of reading the thing and I would be asleep.) However, I do know that when I was a six-figure employee in the tech industry, the tax bill was fairly high — close to a third of my salary. So
Tax Dollars?
far, I’m not paying that as a small business owner. Yes, I know, wait until I have employees of my own!
One of the items in the Wise Woman Framework is developing a relationship with your representatives. This is a representative democracy. That means it’s good to know what the representative is doing for you, even if you didn’t vote for him or her. Make your voice heard and understand their position. And, whenever possible, use the primary source — the actual text of bills and speeches rather than the filtered biases of pundits with extreme views.
My Tax Dollars at Work
At the end of the day, the taxes are being collected for something, not just to build a CEO another 12-room house in the Bahamas. They pay for schools and teachers. They pay for roads. And, hopefully, regulation. They pay for unemployment benefits for the thousands who are being laid off. Could it be done better or more cleanly? Maybe even more cheaply and with less complication? Probably.
But it took a while to get us into this mess, so it’s going to take a bit to get us out.
Better go write that tax check.
