Infernal Revenue Squad

Today is the day US Tax forms are due unless you filed for an extension. I used to love waiting until midnite with my 1040EZ to drive down to the post office and get in line for the drive-by postal drop the USPS usually has every year at larger post offices. It was always a party as you had lots of people celebrating waiting until the end to hang on to their money or simply protesting taxation but, fearing the long arm of the IRS, paying up at the last minute. I was on the local news one year when a few friends and I lurched towards the post office like tax lemmings and the newscaster asked us why we were up at 1am driving by the postoffice. Of course we gave sassy answers and my Father saw it on the news the next evening...not amused :)

Ever since I found macintax/turbotax I've been filing in February as it makes the unpleasant task a bit more bearable since you just plug in a bit of information and it spews out all the forms with how much you owe and where to send what forms.

Until 1955 taxes were due on the Ides of March instead of April! I'd have to wear a toga down to the post office and get a few friends to reenact the scene from Julius Caesar just to see if anyone would get the joke :) "Friends, Romans, Countrymen...can you spot me a few grand so the IRS doesn't take my house?!" There is a wonderful collection of taxation history at The Tax History Project so you can see just how long people have been paying taxes and just how easy we have it these days.

15 Apr 2002 at 17:21, Helsinki