The Tax Man Cometh

April 15th, a day of infamy. I actually did my taxes early this year, I mailed them yesterday. Yes, that counts as early. April 15th is on time, April 15th at 11:30PM is pushing it.

This event creates indescribable panic for me. Oh, it is not the paying of taxes, it is not the filling out the forms, it is not the mailing of the return...it is the gathering of the data. You see, my bride and I are both "stackers." we would much rather be doing fun stuff, creative stuff, interesting stuff, than finding the right file for the exact bill, or invoice, or EOB from insurance companies. Consequently, when I try to find the information for health, real estate taxes, or anything else, I stand in front of a towering stack of forms and bills, and my heart sinks.

I'm even a stacker in my business life and in the cyber world. I answer every email (eventually) which is a challenge because I receive 60-70 a day. So my inbox can get up to 400 or so open emails, stacked as it were, before I get panicky enough to "file" them. I could spend an hour a day just filing emails and still not have what the ladies in the call center refer to as "white paper" or open space at the bottom of the email list.
I know where stuff is..generally speaking, and I remember very well what is on it. It is the act of placing my hands on it that creates in me a huge sigh of frustration.

Why can't the IRS simply take my word for it that what I am telling them is true and accurate? We should have a line on the 1040, somewhere near the top...
Are you a stacker? How many stackers are in your family? Do you have someone in your life who is not a stacker who can verify all this information? If not, are you honest enough that we can trust you?

This may be why I am such a fan of a federal sales tax, the angst would fall on those who sell us stuff, not those of us who invest back in the economy as liberally as we do.

I could resolve to do better this year, but I know myself well enough to know, that while other people have a hard time fooling me.. I can fool me every time. It ain't gonna happen. I am comfortable with being a stacker, what I need is for my bride to suddenly have a huge apocalyptic, conversion event that turns her into a sorter, the opposite of a stacker.

Yes, I like that solution much better.

Godspeed to all you sorters and stackers.
Don