If you are an employee of the government, you have a good chance to realize that taxes are not just debts but are also the source of people's incomes.
I have read that "double-entry bookkeeping" is one of the inventions that has assisted business and commerce grow to the size, power and effectiveness we see these days. This is the basic idea that every transaction involves an account being lowered and some other account being increased. At book balancing, all the assets must be equal to all the liabilities. The principle of entering every transaction twice increases the probability that the books are a correct and accurate picture of the money situation in the firm.
I don't keep a genuine set of books but in a sense, tax time is a time for surveying and accounting for accounts and transactions for the past year. A year is more than I can keep in my head or even want to stay aware of. So, answering all the questions from my accountant gives me a review of what has happened that is different from reviewing a family photo album but equally interesting. Did I have large gambling wins or losses during the year? Have I incurred living expenses abroad as a result of owning a foreign business or property? Not only do I get a picture of what I did but I get prompts for what I might have done, what lives I might have lived and what they would be like.
So, along with the panic stemming from fear that I just can't answer that question or Iost that crucial receipt, comes the satisfaction of seeing what I lost and what I gained and when and where it all happened. The financial health of families ought to increase during these times of spreadsheets and up-to-date tax software. Seeing what we have, what we would be able to do and what is not such a good idea has got to be helpful.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
I have read that "double-entry bookkeeping" is one of the inventions that has assisted business and commerce grow to the size, power and effectiveness we see these days. This is the basic idea that every transaction involves an account being lowered and some other account being increased. At book balancing, all the assets must be equal to all the liabilities. The principle of entering every transaction twice increases the probability that the books are a correct and accurate picture of the money situation in the firm.
I don't keep a genuine set of books but in a sense, tax time is a time for surveying and accounting for accounts and transactions for the past year. A year is more than I can keep in my head or even want to stay aware of. So, answering all the questions from my accountant gives me a review of what has happened that is different from reviewing a family photo album but equally interesting. Did I have large gambling wins or losses during the year? Have I incurred living expenses abroad as a result of owning a foreign business or property? Not only do I get a picture of what I did but I get prompts for what I might have done, what lives I might have lived and what they would be like.
So, along with the panic stemming from fear that I just can't answer that question or Iost that crucial receipt, comes the satisfaction of seeing what I lost and what I gained and when and where it all happened. The financial health of families ought to increase during these times of spreadsheets and up-to-date tax software. Seeing what we have, what we would be able to do and what is not such a good idea has got to be helpful.
--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
