Ah, taxes.
The price of a polite society, or whatever that guy said.
Now, you could sit around in an undergrad philosophy classroom, and with all the wonder and majesty of the Socratic method debate the veracity of this statement.
There are other certainties. I’m certain of it! What about planetary and galactic rotation, particle science, microbiology?
This comes at the end of a passage, in a translation of a letter that Ben Franklin wrote in French to a scientist named Jean-Baptiste LeRoy in November 1789.
It reads: “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.”
(Source: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/benjamin-franklins-last-great-quote-and-the-constitution, November 13, 2021).
Was he right, absolutely?
In all of the experience of the universe of knowledge, probably not.
There are always exceptions to the rule.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and share an opinion with you.
I believe that if the quote was prefaced with “in business” it would make perfect sense.
In business, nothing is certain except death and taxes.
That’s fair, right?
I hope so, because that’s the launch pad I’m going to blast off from with what comes next.
I believe that a successful entrepreneur, that has known multiple small failures, been tortured by one thousand cuts, and risen above it all, is a genuine hero.
Oxford tells us that a hero is a person who is admired by many people for doing something brave or good.
Damn skippy.
My admiration for you is a given.
Creating a business, creating wealth for your family and jobs for the economy is a hero’s journey, and nobody can tell me different.
And you heroes know that nothing is certain, not a single damned thing, in that business of yours.
Except for taxes. And, I guess we have to acknowledge that no one lives forever.
Vampires are not really real.
But taxes certainly are.
The concept is as old as civilization itself, and not uniquely American, so don’t whine about how unfair it all is.
Mr. Franklin knew there was no income tax as we know it back in his day, but he must’ve had a crystal ball, because after a decade of national taxation during the Civil War, and another period of time later in the 19th century it returned to America in the form of the Sixteenth Amendment for good in 1913.
Sorry, conspiracy theorists. Taxes are constitutional, and I laugh at you when you say they aren’t.
Laugh, I say! They suck, but technically in our great nation they ARE constitutional.
Moving on…
Since We Know Taxes are a Certainty Anyway….
Plan for them!
(You knew that was coming, didn’t you?).
Uncle Sugar lets us put it off and procrastinate because they have a system of interest and penalty payments built into the process that makes them even more money than they’re entitled to.
Taxes are on my mind a lot because the last federal income tax deadline of the year is tomorrow, and I am doing returns for people that haven’t even made a payment toward 2021, either last year or with their extension.
They will pay more than they have to, and I want to save my part of the world from this sorrowful fate.
Plan for it. People will clean their kitchen after a meal to a bright sparkling shine, but let this burden of excess tax obligations hang over their heads in the background for months.
It’s not good for your soul.
Also, once the inevitability creeps back into your consciousness it brings with it a sphincter-tightening feeling of dread and anxiety.
Like a messy room in your mind.
A messy room that costs you money. A literal money hemorrhage, in fact, because there’s no reason for you to spend it if you just plan.
The only reason you should EVER have to file an extension is if you don’t have all of the paperwork or inputs necessary to complete an accurate filing by April 15th.
Period.
It’s not a procrastinator’s lever, and don’t believe the IRS is less likely to audit you if you extend, either.
That is what is known as an urban myth.
With the right tax and accounting advocate by your side I firmly believe you should actually look forward to, and celebrate, tax season.
That’s right. It’s a time to be grateful for the abundance that has come into your life because of your sacrifice and efforts, and hold yourself accountable.
I do. Look forward to tax season.
I want this for you, too.
In Conclusion
The extension deadline is tomorrow. You have until 11:59 p.m. to e-file.
Get on it!
If you have never made an estimated tax payment DURING the tax year, start this year. If not now, certainly for the 4th deadline in mid-January.
You will save yourself hundreds of dollars in April, and get ahead of the curve.
If I leave you with nothing else, please take this last thing to heart:
Sooner or later, you have to face the fact that taxes are an ordinary and necessary expense of your business.
Embrace the process, pay them as you go four times a year, plan for them, and most importantly?
By doing all of this, pay the lowest amount legitimately possible!
Oh, and know you’re not going to have to wipe out your savings or go into debt next tax season, as well.
Doesn’t that just FEEL right and good to you?
Embrace the concept of taxes, because if you’re paying more tax it goes to follow logically that you’re doing better.
Here’s to leading your very best life, better and better!