What with the Looming Deadline and all, that I don't have to file my taxes until June. Pthththt.
I just found this out during an email exchange with my accountant, the Amazing Warren. I was worried about Warren: we found each other by default, which is never a good start to a relationship. It goes like this. The Charming Bruce, his predecessor, was a witness in a case I was working on. Under cross examination, Bruce just kept answering questions. Kindly. In a friendly way. Adding information as it occurred to him, right off the top of his head. Bruce had allegedly never been a witness before. It was an impressive performance, and one which could really only have been given by a person who really knew his stuff cold and was not at all worried about the answers.
So the following tax time, I called him up. He did a fine job. I sent him a couple of clients, even -- at that time I did a lot of domestic relations work and I had occasion to bump into a number of people with financial woes. One of the things I liked about the Charming Bruce was, if he didn't know how to handle somebody's problem, he told them so and sent them to someone who did know how. This trait is less common than you might think.
But then the Charming Bruce went to work full time for one of his clients and handed me off to The Amazing Warren. I was, to tell you the truth, not at all pleased. This is usually a bad sign in an accountant -- being handed off is sometimes just ine step from having your taxes done by office personnel plugging the numbers into a program. Well, if I wanted a half-assed job, I could do it myself.
However, The Amazing Warren (despite his annoying if very professional habit of charging me for phone calls) is great. He answers my emails. He asks questions. He nags me when I don't answer his emails because I am too busy going to school and back four times a day. Such a comfort to know that somebody cares about my IRA contribution getting there on time.
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2 comments:
Jeannine:
I thought April 15 was the drop dead date (unless extended) beyond which U.S. tax payers turn into pumpkins? No matter, but I assume there are income taxes in the Netherlands even if your income is zero or very small?
My weekend trip to Charlotte, N.C. was good. Sold most of the parts and pieces from the '65 Vette. Looked at lots of hot rods. Nice weather for 2 of the 3 days, that's good for spring.
Dad
Hi, dad,
No, those of us who inhabt foreign climes have the privilege of having our votes ignored and also of filing our taxes late. Holland has big fat income tax but the US is alone in the world (I think) in requiring its citizens to report and pay income taxes no matter where you live and no matter where the money is earned. You do get to deduct the taxes you paid the furriners, though, which in effect means I will never again pay US income tax -- the taxes here are higher in almost every case.
But Paul, not being a citizen, does not have to pay US taxes unless he actually lives there. None of which matters as we overpaid for 2004 and are therefore getting a refund.
Get the vinyl covers for the red vette seats while you are at it; Thing One and Thing Two have big plans for driving Papa John's race car. I bet Speed Racer did not leave a trail of cookie crubs in the Mach 5.
On the other hand, they probably won't poop all over the place like Chim Chim.
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