I’ve come to the conclusion that everything in life is normally distributed. You may remember the normal distribution from a class you took on probability theory. It’s the bell curve. Most things are in the middle, but some are outliers stuck at both ends.
It’s that way in the world of tax accounting. There are good accountants, there are average accountants, and there are, of course, bad accountants. But it takes a special set of skills to be a Bozo accountant.
I’ve written several stories about Bozo tax practitioners. Here are some helpful hints on what to look for in a Bozo tax practitioner:
* He’s never met a deduction that doesn’t fit everyone. There’s no reason why a renter can’t take a mortgage interest deduction, right? And everyone’s entitled to $20,000 of employee business expenses…even if their salary is just $40,000 a year. Ask the proprietors of Western Tax Service about that.
* He believes that the income tax is voluntary. After all, we live in a democracy, so we don’t have to pay taxes, right?
* Besides preparing tax returns, he sells courses on why the Income Tax is unconstitutional or how by filing the magical $2295 papers he sells you’ll be able to avoid the income tax.
* He wants you to sign over that tax refund to him. After all, he’ll make sure you get your share of it after he takes out his 50% of the refund.
I think you get the idea. If your tax preparer starts exhibiting symptoms like these, make sure you find someone else. File an extension and seek someone who is not a Bozo.
Like it or not, taxes are part of life. Tax preparers who follow one of the items on the Tax Protester FAQ are Bozos. If you follow a Bozo’s advice you’re just asking for trouble.
Tags: BozoTaxTips