Today I decided to tackle the four tax returns I need to complete this year (two S-corp returns and two personal). The corporate returns for 7 Minute Miles were pretty easy, as the company was dormant all year and was officially dissolved on December 31, 2006. Our personal federal return was much harder. I’m still missing a mortgage interest statement, but I decided to run through the whole process once using what I have so far. The initial refund outlook is good, but we’ll see on Monday what the final numbers look like.

The current tax code is too convoluted–politicians seem to think that the tax form is the primary way to implement policy. My favorite from this year? The new line on the Minnesota S-corp return that gives a credit to farmers for tuberculosis testing on their cows. Sigh.

The government knows us by social security number and gets reporting from employers every time a paycheck is issued. The technology is out there–why do we still have to go through this process? As for policy decisions, why not have all entitlement programs go through an online application process with direct deposit/automatic funds dispersement? That way, the farmers with the sick cows can get their funding and I don’t have to wade through an extra 10 pages of tax form instructions each year.