Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Y2K4TAX


oh cwap. You mean to tell me that my 9 year old Windows operating system that I use once a year for taxes is going to have to be replaced!?! (That's tongue in cheek, we all know a usable windows 2000 did not exist in the year 2000. Its probably only 7 or 8 years old.) Does it matter that I haven't had a job in 2 years and don't owe any taxes?

I demand Ubuntu Turbo Tax.

15 comments:

Kari said...

You should start an internet petition for equal OS representation in Turbotax.

Og Make Blog said...

You can always entrust you private data to those guys using their web based system. They won't leak it or use it... really!?

Why don't you use pencil and paper... should be a breeze given your status.

Why not use the forms from the gub'ment, surely you can use pdf documents on Linux (yes, rhetorical.) Just add and subtract carefully and you will have a digital record for your files.

By the way, Turbo Tax sucks... or at least for me... I could not get the trial version to fill in my Sched. E's properly.

Spork In the Eye said...

Entrusting: Um, there has been more than one example over the years on exactly this topic. I decline. No amount of tinfoil would protect me.

Suckage: I've heard/read of multiple people that say similar things about every package out there. Some where they compared package A & B on the same data and got massively different tax liability. The problem there is with the tax code being too damn complicated. It works for me, so I use it.

I guess I could do everything by hand. But every time I ever cracked open one of those tax instruction booklets I got the extreme desire to put a .38 in my temple. How they can make "what's your name and are you married" into a 1/2 page of gobbleygook I don't know.

When the head (to be) of the IRS can't do his own taxes, there's a problem.

Og Make Blog said...

If you earned less than (what is the limit? $6000?)the minimum required to file, then why are you doing it?

Spork In the Eye said...

Well from what I can tell the gross income limit for us (for filing) is about $18k. That number is not impossible to hit even without a job. The rub is whether you file or not, you gotta sit down and sort out that figure. Even if you don't file, you'd better have all that data in a neatly organized pile you can pull out at any moment. Call it insurance.

Og Make Blog said...

I was just jabbing at 'ya. I figured you had enough unearned to exceed the minimum. I thought the minimum for filing was regardless of filing status .... not that you would owe anything above that amount. Now I'll have to go read about it.

Enos Straitt said...

I thought you got it to work with WINE?

Spork In the Eye said...

I havent tried getting it to work with WINE (and if you have, I'd love to hear the recipe!).

I honestly haven't used WINE (though I have used wine) in years. It seemed like there was always a painful hurdle to get anything to work... always some missing library... It boiled down to there pretty much had to be a windows installation to get all the bits and pieces. At that point I switched to qemu and ran windows proper in an emulator.

Tatarize said...

You should just file online. There's plenty of sites that'll do it for free with efile ability. Just account for the money you were given or lived off of for the last year and file your taxes. It should be a couple thousand bucks (assuming you're alive) and then they give you a few credits. Even if you make nothing the EIC and other things will hook you up nicely with a few hundred bucks.

Could even be a couple thousand if you have a few kids and are on the ropes. In general, it's a mistake to not file your taxes especially if you don't owe any money.

Spork In the Eye said...

yeah, I don't file online. They actually have a pretty lousy security record. Plus 18 years in IT security has made me one paranoid bastard. I proudly wear my tinfoil hat.

Og Make Blog said...

EIC's only work for those with 'earned income.' Gotta work for the man ... or have a kid or dozen lying about. My friend Spork (and myself for that matter) is (are) not so mainstream and doesn't (don't) have any legislation granting him either representation or credits. If by chance something is broad enough to pertain to me... it won't ... I won't qualify.

Paper and pen really do work wonders together. I hope you do realize my earlier line about using the online version of TurboTurd was a joke. I respect your tinfoil hat, although it is constructed from aluminum.

Spork In the Eye said...

It's made of freaking aluminum? Why don't people tell me these things!?! Aluminum's got a way smaller atomic number than Tin... Quick. Someone tell me. Which is better at reducing the government's ability to read my mind with their machines? If it is the high numbered elements, I can go back to my Actinium hat, but the brain tumors are a pain in the ass.

Og Make Blog said...

Ah, but now we know where your brain is located!

The heavier, the better. Any Actinide or Lanthanide types would work, but the unstable nucleii can indeed be a problem. Plus, they can be downright uncomfortable due to their large atomic masses.

Some comfort, though. Metals are great conductors of electrons due to their 'electron gas' type properties, ergo the great electromagnetic shielding properties. Aluminum is about the third best in that regard. My suggestion would be to use silver. Best conductivity and a resonable atomic mass. It is also has great germicidal and photochemical properties, as well. Bonus, you can use it for currency.

Kari said...

Og, could the silver be hammered into any decorative shape or does it have to be the standard pyramid to achieve maximum protection?

Og Make Blog said...

I suppose any shape will work, although the pyramid is a perennial favorite.