Tax Man
By LMReviews on Apr 2, 2009 in Multicultural Writing, Writing/Freelancing
Last Friday, I did what everyone dreads this time of year. I sat down with the tax guy to review my tax obligation for 2008. In previous years, I daringly filed my own taxes using one of the leading tax software programs. But this year with the interesting financial moves I made and having actually sold a book, I decided to hire a professional. I had no idea how this was going to turn out.
Months ago in preparation for tax time, one thing I knew for sure. Since I was embarking on this freelance/self-employed journey, now was the time to claim and create all the legitimate business deductions I could. No waiting for things to improve before buying equipment and supplies for my writing business. No waiting to pay for and plan any writing research trips. This was going to be the best time to invest in my business and invest in myself.
So I took the classes, bought the books, invested in the websites, domain names, hosting etc that would improve my business and my writing. I even replaced my desktop and brought a laptop to use during travel. (OK, I did unintentionally fry the motherboard on my previous desktop before I purchased another…minor detail, right? Those darn memory cards and confusing memory card bays! Besides, my desktop was over seven years old.)
After it was all said and done, it looks like the tax man is going to owe me. WHEW…No matter how much I overpay durnig the year, I always fear the outcome of tax time. I’ve heard the story of overpaying taxes is like giving the government an interest-free loan, but its hard to change the mindset that if you owe Uncle Sam on April 15th, somehow you did something wrong.
Why does our culture make us and environment cause us feel this way? I’m sure many entrepreneurs don’t think of it that way at all. Heck, if you owe Uncle Sam on April 15th, maybe you are just paying back an interest-free loan?
This article started out about the tax responsibilities of freelancers and turned into a cultural analysis of our view on paying taxes. I think there’s a lesson in that alone…
Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.
Allen Taylor