I Think I've Been Insulted...
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A IRS Licensed Tax Preparer is not allowed to disclose his/her clients confidential information without the clients explicit approval. She has not been named, but sufficient information has been provided for interested parties (for example her enemies) to deduce her identity. We already know she is a friend of Rogers. She may in turn have a circle of friends who know Roger is helping her with her taxes. Some of those friends may be reading these message boards. To these folks this message will jump straight out at them. Now they are privy to some information they have no business knowing. The internet is a permanent record. They can pull up these messages even 2-3 years from now and voila ! Easiest way to catch Osama - I would have Gillete announce a "Worst Beard Contest 2005" in North West Pakistan and arrest the top-three winners. One of them has got to be Osama. Simple yet cunning !
Vivek Rajan wrote: They can pull up these messages even 2-3 years from now and voila ! so? I understand your point, but what can possibly be gained by knowing someone hasn't paid taxes in 4 years and just bought a house? She obviously isn't trying to get away with anything since she is trying to pay what she owes, so what about this info can be used by "her enemies"? BW
I want pancakes! God, do you people understand every language except English?
Yo quiero pancakes. Donnez moi pancakes. Click click, bloody click pancakes!
-- Stewie Griffin -
I think this is the correct response for you in this case. If this is a bit esoteric I am happy to elucidate later. Roger Wright wrote: I'm hurt. Have I reason to be? Yes. Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So i had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash 24/04/2004
:laugh::laugh: Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm by nature a bit more diplomatic than that. Not to say that I haven't thought such things, mind you...;) "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
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If it's any consolation, she inherently admitted her own inability to do her taxes "right" - in other words, she didn't insult your abilities any more than she insulted her own. And since she said "There's no way I can owe that much tax", I'm guessing she was probably rather distressed when she said it, which means she probably wasn't really thinking about your feelings and was probably looking for a way to calm herself about the amount of money she owes. ----------------------------------------------------- Empires Of Steel[^] It was very nice of our loving Designer to design an immune system to protect us from the deadly diseases He designed.
Brit wrote: was probably looking for a way to calm herself about the amount of money she owes. Quite likely true. Sadly, what she owes is a pittance, and I almost offerred to pay it for her, but at the wages most people here earn it must seem like an insurmountable debt. "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
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I was asked by a friend to help her with her taxes recently. She hasn't filed in 4 years. I took on the chore - a minor one - because I want to help her get back on track financially, and I've done taxes professionally and on the side for 30+ years. This will only make sense to Americans, but bear with me. She bought a house in 2003, so I had hoped to save her some money by claiming the closing costs, plus the interest on the loan as itemized deductions. No go - the seller paid the closing costs, and her total payments including interest were less than the standard deduction. In 2004 her total interest payments - mortgage interest is deductible from income in the US - were less than the standard deduction once again, and she made too much for an Earned Income Credit. One W-2, no outside work. No medical deductions. No education or job expense. No moving expense, no dependents, no medical savings account, no IRA or Keough plan deductions. Nothing but the one job and the house. I've got nothing to work with here... The insulting thing was that, when I handed the package of fully completed tax returns for 4 years, she said, " There's no way I can owe that much tax. I'm going to have to pay someone to do it right." I'm hurt. Have I reason to be? "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
I wouldn't take it too hard, Roger. She lacks tact, but I'd guess, if you are really friends, she didn't mean the way it came out. If she didn't trust you, she wouldn't have asked for your help to begin with. She is likely reacting to the news, and hoping you have missed something that could save her some money. She's just grasping at straws, more or less. BW
I want pancakes! God, do you people understand every language except English?
Yo quiero pancakes. Donnez moi pancakes. Click click, bloody click pancakes!
-- Stewie Griffin -
I was asked by a friend to help her with her taxes recently. She hasn't filed in 4 years. I took on the chore - a minor one - because I want to help her get back on track financially, and I've done taxes professionally and on the side for 30+ years. This will only make sense to Americans, but bear with me. She bought a house in 2003, so I had hoped to save her some money by claiming the closing costs, plus the interest on the loan as itemized deductions. No go - the seller paid the closing costs, and her total payments including interest were less than the standard deduction. In 2004 her total interest payments - mortgage interest is deductible from income in the US - were less than the standard deduction once again, and she made too much for an Earned Income Credit. One W-2, no outside work. No medical deductions. No education or job expense. No moving expense, no dependents, no medical savings account, no IRA or Keough plan deductions. Nothing but the one job and the house. I've got nothing to work with here... The insulting thing was that, when I handed the package of fully completed tax returns for 4 years, she said, " There's no way I can owe that much tax. I'm going to have to pay someone to do it right." I'm hurt. Have I reason to be? "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
Roger Wright wrote: I'm hurt. Have I reason to be? Yes, but if you are the vengeful type (though you don't seem to be) she will get hers when she has to pay what she owes plus the "professional's fee". As for the taxes theres not much you can do with simple income, I'm sure it varies from state to state but you fill in a few boxes and viola you've got your results. Recently I have had my own personal taxes done professionally because my "income" is getting more complex etc and I just do it for peace of mind (and I know the guy) but after reviewing it there isn't anything he can do that I couldn't. Matt Newman
Even the very best tools in the hands of an idiot will produce something of little or no value. - Chris Meech on Idiots
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Steve Mayfield wrote: I was told some time ago that the principle portion of a monthly payment doesn't get to more than 50% until at least half of the loan life has past. That's correct - you can do the math and prove it to yourself. Adding even $100/month to your payment will significantly reduce your total cost over the life of the loan because for the first 5 years or so your payments are almost entirely interest. "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
We all know the fantastic portion of interest paid on a long term homeloan, but it was really brought home to me recently as I have just bought a house. I was using an online mortgage calculator to estimate my repayments on a loan amount of ZAR690k, and mistakenly entered ZAR690.00. In the result field, the amount I took to be the repayment, over ZAR7k seemed way too high, but was actually the total amount to be paid over the term. That is, 10 times the loan amount, for only a small loan over 20 years. His hands felt the grasp of strong white hairs, and he knew he would not survive this fungus.
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I was asked by a friend to help her with her taxes recently. She hasn't filed in 4 years. I took on the chore - a minor one - because I want to help her get back on track financially, and I've done taxes professionally and on the side for 30+ years. This will only make sense to Americans, but bear with me. She bought a house in 2003, so I had hoped to save her some money by claiming the closing costs, plus the interest on the loan as itemized deductions. No go - the seller paid the closing costs, and her total payments including interest were less than the standard deduction. In 2004 her total interest payments - mortgage interest is deductible from income in the US - were less than the standard deduction once again, and she made too much for an Earned Income Credit. One W-2, no outside work. No medical deductions. No education or job expense. No moving expense, no dependents, no medical savings account, no IRA or Keough plan deductions. Nothing but the one job and the house. I've got nothing to work with here... The insulting thing was that, when I handed the package of fully completed tax returns for 4 years, she said, " There's no way I can owe that much tax. I'm going to have to pay someone to do it right." I'm hurt. Have I reason to be? "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
I really respect your good heart, Roger. You've just experienced that old human trait that folks respect your efforts and knowledge in perportion to the amount they paid for it. Jerry Most people are willing to pay more to be amused than to be educated--Robert C. Savage, Life Lessons Toasty0.com Ladder League (beta)
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I was asked by a friend to help her with her taxes recently. She hasn't filed in 4 years. I took on the chore - a minor one - because I want to help her get back on track financially, and I've done taxes professionally and on the side for 30+ years. This will only make sense to Americans, but bear with me. She bought a house in 2003, so I had hoped to save her some money by claiming the closing costs, plus the interest on the loan as itemized deductions. No go - the seller paid the closing costs, and her total payments including interest were less than the standard deduction. In 2004 her total interest payments - mortgage interest is deductible from income in the US - were less than the standard deduction once again, and she made too much for an Earned Income Credit. One W-2, no outside work. No medical deductions. No education or job expense. No moving expense, no dependents, no medical savings account, no IRA or Keough plan deductions. Nothing but the one job and the house. I've got nothing to work with here... The insulting thing was that, when I handed the package of fully completed tax returns for 4 years, she said, " There's no way I can owe that much tax. I'm going to have to pay someone to do it right." I'm hurt. Have I reason to be? "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
Roger Wright wrote: I'm hurt. Have I reason to be? I agree, there is reason to be hurt. However, I think there is room to understand that she is in denial of the financial issues she has to deal with. She will pay her money to someone else, they will tell her the same and she will either get mad (still being in denial) and walk out looking for someone else, or finally accept the situation she is in. You can't help her with that, she has to come to terms with what she is facing. If she were not in denial, scared of what she has to deal with she might have stopped to ask for an explanation. "Would you be willing to help me understand why this is so high?" but she is not ready for that yet. Good luck, and I hope the friendship survives. Perhaps, as an appology she will return and ask if there is anything she can do, start doing (or start recording, like medical and charity payments) in order to prevent this from happening again. That might prepare her better for the future, proactive rather than reactive. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Wow! Is that ever familiar! Curiously, most of my friends are female, and I get this behavior a lot. I doubt that it's limited to the female of the species, though, as most men I know are also afflicted with this kind of defective logic. I lack the practical experience to prove it, however. "If a man speaks in the woods, and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?" ;) "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
Roger Wright wrote: I doubt that it's limited to the female of the species, though, as most men I know are also afflicted with this kind of defective logic. Hermitage sometimes has its advantages... :) I saw this way too often, and worse. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Vivek Rajan wrote: They can pull up these messages even 2-3 years from now and voila ! so? I understand your point, but what can possibly be gained by knowing someone hasn't paid taxes in 4 years and just bought a house? She obviously isn't trying to get away with anything since she is trying to pay what she owes, so what about this info can be used by "her enemies"? BW
I want pancakes! God, do you people understand every language except English?
Yo quiero pancakes. Donnez moi pancakes. Click click, bloody click pancakes!
-- Stewie Griffinbrianwelsch wrote: but what can possibly be gained by knowing someone hasn't paid taxes in 4 years and just bought a house? Also some of the information can lead you to the wrong assumptions. Just because she had no medical to file, or charity, doesn't mean she couldn't have, she just didn't keep the records. So cross-checking the rest of the information could elliminate people that should not be elliminated including the lady in question. So then you are back to house and not paying taxes for 4 years, that is it. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Wow! Is that ever familiar! Curiously, most of my friends are female, and I get this behavior a lot. I doubt that it's limited to the female of the species, though, as most men I know are also afflicted with this kind of defective logic. I lack the practical experience to prove it, however. "If a man speaks in the woods, and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?" ;) "If it's Snowbird season, why can't we shoot them?" - Overheard in a bar in Bullhead City
here's what you do..when that ask for your opinion about something, just say..."You know, I asked (fill in name) that very question the other day, here is what {he | she} suggested"... Steve