It’s Not Just The Money
Every April, I pay H&R Block $80 to do my taxes even though my income and deductibles don’t change significantly from year to year. It’s an insurance policy that I resent. I don’t want to go through the hassle of deducting this from that and wondering if I’m interpreting the tax code correctly. Also, I figure the Internal Revenue Service probably will leave me alone if I provide the right numbers to professional tax preparers. In exchange, H&R Block gobbled up half my refund this year. President Clinton and the Republican Congress would do taxpayers a tremendous service by simplifying the tax code and the forms we fill out. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, understands the problem. “Our tax code,” he said, “is so complex that even the professionals can’t make sense of it.” When Money magazine asked the IRS a series of questions, agents answered 78 percent of them incorrectly. I rest my case.
Where’s Post Falls going to put those kids?
I’d give a penny for Superintendent Richard Harris’ thoughts after learning a Spokane developer plans a monster subdivision within the Post Falls School District. Recently, Jim Frank announced plans to add 1,613 homes to the current housing glut. Officially, Harris and other school officials won’t say anything. Unofficially, they must be wondering where they’re going to put all the new children. After all, Post Falls schools already are overcrowded and a bond election for a new high school has failed three times. Sure, the developer plans to donate land for a new school. But big deal. The district needs buildings. When will city and county planning commissioners learn to say the word “no”?
Ex-Democratic chief denies comment
Lynda Payne, former chairwoman of the Kootenai County Democratic Central Committee, denies she ever had words with Blanche Moore, wife of late county Assessor Tom Moore. A “Hot Potato” on Thursday repeated Blanche Moore’s claims that Payne had called her last fall upset by news that the dying assessor planned to switch his party affiliation to Republican. In recent letters to both local newspapers, Blanche Moore contended that Payne had closed their conversation by saying, “Call me when he dies.” But Payne said she’d never say something like that, pointing out that she has worked as a crisis-line volunteer. “I just wouldn’t do it,” she said. Payne said she believes Blanche Moore was so upset by her husband’s pending death that she might have misconstrued her words. Contacted at home, Blanche Moore said she stands by her story. , DataTimes MEMO: D.F. Oliveria’s “Hot Potatoes” runs Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can comment on the items by calling (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125 or by sending e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.