Staying off topic just a bit longer...

One thing you didn't care to know about me is that I am somewhat of a political junkie and follow certain political blogs closely. In full disclosure, I lean to the left of center. This is probably due to growing up in a union household in the Northeast.

One of my regular reads is Andrew Sullivan. Even though he is conservative, I admire him for being able to keep a clear head and doesn't attempt to link every thing the current administration does to the conservative cause in general. If Bush screws up, he calls it that way. I did find this one post peculiar though.

Although he doesn't explicitly say it, I assume the theme of his post is to highlight that Iran is a barbaric regime. It's a theme he returns to frequently.

My point is not to argue whether Iran is a barbaric regime. I agree that it is. But I'm willing to bet $100 that if someone polled self identified conservatives with the following question, "Are you in favor of the death penalty extending to those convicted of kidnapping or rape?", that over 80% of conservatives polled would be in favor.

How can you be in favor of the death penalty in the US, but then criticize the death penalty in Iran? Is it the fact that the execution was by hanging? in public?

I haven't read Andrew Sullivan enough to know his stance on the death penalty (perhaps he is against it), but I do know that conservatives strongly believe that it is OK for the government to take another person's life if they commit a crime. Once you decide that is OK, the question of how it is done, where it takes place, and what crimes are appropriate is all just a slippery slope in my opinion.

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2224950/20511168

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

I'm sure my ranting on the IRS and TurboTax wasn't particularly engaging to anyone.

Still it felt good to get it off my chest...

We'll get back to more weight loss centered posts now...

Thanks for your time...

It's Official...I HATE TURBOTAX

I won't bore you with the long drawn out letters back and forthat this point , but "Anita" essentially restated the error was mine. It didn't matter if I felt TurboTax's software should automatically flag an error as obvious as the one I made or that Turbotax would even allow me to claim two different social security numbers as my own.

You would think that in this case...just to be consumer friendly...they would throw me some sort of bone...

But thier response (in the most professional way possible) was to say, "We're sorry your so ignorant as to fill out such an easy question incorrectly. We hope you use our product again!"

My response (in the most professional way possible) was to let them know I will never use thier product again and will let everyone know that I think thier product and thier accuracy guarantee stinks! I also let them know that my wife and I are planning to purchase personal finance software in the very near future (that's what happens when you have to pay thousands of unforseen dollars to the IRS) and that we will not be choosing Quicken (brought to you be the same company that produces TurboTax).

Can you feel my anger coming through on this post right now?

Where are you Bob Meighan? Looking for your response in the comments section.

Tax saga continued...

For those interested, here TurboTax's response to my request that they pick:

I received your letter regarding our Accurate Calculations Guarantee, and have reviewed your request for reimbursement for interest and/or penalties paid to the IRS for 2005.I have determined that TurboTax Software did perform the calculation correctly and am unable to approve your claim. The basis for coming to this decision is as follows:When you choose to enter a W-2 in the program,you come first to a screen titled “Tell Us About Your Wage Income.” If you are filing jointly with a spouse, that screen contains three buttons from which you must choose. One has the taxpayer’s name on it, another has the spouse’s name, and the third says to skip the W-2 entry. You cannot progress beyond this pointto enter a W-2 without making a selection here. If you make the correct selection, that is, if you correctly identify the person to whom that W-2 belongs, then the social security tax from that W-2 will accrue to that person. If you accidentally make the wrong selection, and choose the same owner for W-2s that belong to different spouses, then all the social security tax withheld accrues to only one spouse and that person appears to have too much social security withheld. The apparently excess amount appears on your 1040 as “Excess social security withheld” and increases your refund or decreases the tax due.If this error occurs, you are given the opportunity to make corrections. After entering the W-2s, a screen appears saying that one individual may have paid too much social security, with the relevant information appearing below for you to review and correct.If you use the CD version of the product, whether an actual CD or downloaded CD, you can verify this error by opening your return and choosing Continue as though you were going to work on your data again. Then, along the top of the TurboTax screen, there is a narrow grey menu bar that starts with the words “File…Edit…View…Forms…. Select the word Forms, then Show My Return from the dropdown menu. You will see a list of all the forms used to create your return. Double click on the Form W-2 and W-2G Summary to open it. If you see if too much income showing in the column for one spouse, that is the cause of your excess social security.If you used the online version, you can duplicate the error by starting a fake return in the current online version. When you enter W-2s, make the erroneous spouse selection as described above and see that all social security is then attributed to only one spouse.Keeping our customers loyal is important to us. If you have further questions, or feel that I have reached this conclusion in error, please feel free to contact me by sending an e-mail to TaxAnalysts@intuit.com and typing “Attn: xxx” in the subject line. Please also include your Reference # xxxx in your message.

And here is my response to them:

Anita,

Here are my comments to your conclusion:

-> Since I used the online version, I can not go back and
verify what was entered back in 2005. Your online version only allows
users to go back and check specific entries for the latest year. You note
that I should use the current version to prove that TurboTax asks the
appropriate question, but how do I know that this latest version is exactly the
same as the version used back in February 2006?

-> Even if I take TurboTax’s word on this, can you please explain any situation where I would claim a W-2 return with a different social security number as my own income? This is poor programming at best that only can lead to the error you claim I made. While I can’t go back and prove it, I do not remember TurboTax ever raising a flag indicating a potential error on my part. It is my contention, that while I may have ultimately checked the incorrect box, that poor programming led me down this path. Isn’t the purpose of your software to make it easy for the consumer to fill out a correct tax return? Giving the consumer the choice of selecting a W-2 with another person’s SS# as his / her own income serves no other purpose than to cause confusion and errors in my estimation.

For a few years prior to using your software, I was using HR Tax-cut Online. I actually switched to your software due to its better interface and my impression that it captured more information in order to get a better refund. I was actually excited when TurboTax actually reported a much higher refund than what I received using Tax-Cut. Now, your higher refund resulted in me not only having to pay back taxes (which is a hardship that I didn’t budget for this year), I have to pay an additional $300+ in interest and penalties.

I have already voiced my displeasure publicly on this issue through word of mouth to friends and family and through a personal weblog that generates x page views monthly. I was hoping to follow up this story by telling friends and family (and web traffic) how TurboTax did the right thing in the end. As things stand right now, I can only say that TurboTax did not do the right thing by the consumer and I would
advise anyone against using your services in the future with my story as the cautionary tale.

Bottom Line: I disagree with your review of my request. TurboTax software should not even ask whether W-2 forms with two different Social Security #s should be counted under 1 person. To hold me responsible for accidentally checking the incorrect box for a question that shouldn’t be asked in the first place is unfair. I hope you will reconsider reimbursing me for the interest and penalty charges I have already paid to the IRS.

And now you can vote on who is right and who is wrong! Be the judge, jury, but not the executioner (that's the IRS's job):

Weigh In - Week 18

I'll be perfectly honest here. I was fully expecting to come in to this post with amazement that I was able to keep my weight in check this week. I was shooting for another 196. A quick recap of some of the bad things...

• Only worked out twice this week and both workouts were the bare minimum (cardio, abs, and little / no weights).
• Had a pepperoni cheese steak for the first time in ages. For those of you outside PA, the ingredients are chipped steak, American cheese, pepperoni, all on a 12" white roll. Extremely delicious and the saturated fat is off the charts.
• Went to the bar for drinks on Tuesday night and had beers Saturday afternoon after a successful yard sale.
• Had a Moe's Burrito for dinner on Friday night (Trust me, they're not good for you).
• Finished off a 1/2 bag of multi grain pretzels dipped in Nutella.

By far, this is one of the worst weeks that I can remember since I've started this. There were some positives mind you...Setting up and tearing down the yard sale was a workout in itself. AJ is getting heavier and likes to be held in a way that works the arms a bit. Other than the food faux pas mentioned above, everything else held to my normal weight loss form.

But my faux pas were never this plentiful...Even my trip to see my brother in Phoenix wasn't as bad as this one...and I not only lose weight, but I lose 3 lbs! Someone upstairs must be smiling down on me.

So, I basically am expecting to gain or maintain this week...this was truly a fluke...

Haven't posted the excel chart in a while...here it is:

Finally picked up a scale...

It's amazing that I've gone this long with a program and haven't purchased a scale.

As regular readers know, I've been using my gym's scale as the official weekly reading. I still plan on doing that (and have my next reading coming tonight...wish me luck), but as I get closer to goal / healthy weight, the pounds are not coming off as quickly. Therefore, I wanted to buy something that measures in small increments. This one does it in tenths and that works for me.

Also, I've read horror stories about people crash dieting and losing body muscle instead of body fat. This got me wondering where my body fat % currently is and this scale also does that as well as body water %.

It also saves readings, allows you to track to a goal, and can keep up to four separate users saved at a time. It's very techie / geeky (and guys love techie / geeky stuff). Bought it at Wal-Mart for $39 (Actual photo included above). Only started using last night, but it seems pretty good...

So, in anticipation of today, I jumped on the scale to see where I will probably end up for my "official" weigh in. My unofficial weigh in clocked in at 195.8....since I am going to the nearest pound, I expect to break even this week. To be honest, if that happens, I will not be upset at all and will go into the number of bad things I did this week to make a break even seem OK.

Also, my body fat % came in at 18.9%...which is right at the top of the "healthy" range. Which syncs up nicely with the fact that my weight is right on the bottom of the "overweight" category. Translation: My weight loss program is not causing me to lose weight at the expense of body muscle...which is good.

Extra Bonus: With a digital scale at home, I can now "unofficially" weigh myself without clothes and get an accurate reading. My buck naked weight actually came in at 193.4! Giddy up on that number...Nice to know that my true weight is even better, but for the purposes of the "50 pounds in 50 weeks" game plan, I will stick to weighing myself with tshirt, shorts, and socks...

They are watching...

I don't know whether to be impressed or freaked out...

Go look at the comments section from my little IRS rant...

No...the IRS didn't find it but a VP over at my favorite tax software company did...I doubt he's a regular reader...I wonder what web sniffing software they used to find me...

Caveat Lector...

Deep Thoughts...

..."To pee or not to pee. That is the question. You know the answer." -AJ 7/21/07

Here's a shocker...

...I hate the IRS! (And I'm not too fond of TurboTax either these days)

Long story short...Two years ago, after doing my tax return with TurboTax, I recieved a larger than normal tax return. At the time, I thought nothing of it. We usually got decent refunds each year and while this was larger, I thought it was mainly due to the larger salaries my wife and I were earning. Well, my refund went back down to normal levels and now I find out why...Turbotax took both my wife's income and my income and counted it all as mine. Then it deduced that I paid too much in social security as a result and refunded it back to me. So now I get a letter asking me to pay back the refund I took in error back in March 2006 PLUS Interest on said refund PLUS a "Late Payment Penalty" for not paying it back sooner (how was I supposed to pay it back sooner when I NEVER KNEW I HAD TO PAY IT BACK UNTIL THIS MONTH!)

My tax friend said I should call the friendly folks at the IRS to explain to them my error and to ask them if they would consider removing the interest and late payment penalties and I would gladly pay the back taxes I obviously owed. What a painful experience!

First, the IRS has a telephone prompt system from the 1980's...It took me a good 10 minutes to weave my way through the various prompts to reach a live person. It was almost like they were hoping I would give up trying to speak to a live person and just pay thier extortion money.

Second, once I got through the prompts, I was put into a Musak queue that lasted an additional 25 minutes "while I waited for the next available agent". Once again, they seemed to want me to give up.

Now I get to speak to a live agent after waiting a good 1/2 hour plus. Already fired up, I start to explain my plight (My defense being, "I relied on TurboTax and it screwed me"). I explained how a CPA friend confirmed the IRS was right and I was ready to pay the back taxes but thought they could help out on the interest and penalty portion. The helpful agent explains that I will have to fill out one form to request abatement on the interest (Form 843) and send a seperate letter requesting the removal of a penalty. She also said to pay the full amount (including interest and penalties) and ask for the refund later, so I do not accrue any further penalties and interest while they decide whether they should grant my requests...

I have no problem paying the backtaxes. That was, in essence, my fault. And if it comes down to it, I will pay the interest (although I'm going after TurboTax to pick that up in the end...it was thier error that resulted in the Fed not getting thier money on time). But I'll be damned if anyone is going to pay the government for assessing a late payment penalty when it was they who never notified me (until this month) that I was late in getting them thier money...

And people wonder why government gets a bad name...

Poll for Vegas...

Not giving away too much of the back story here, but I thought I would poll the general blog reading audience.

You can pretty much guess the fun "discussion" I had with my wife the other night...

I'll fill you in on more of the story later...and feel free to elaborate on your poll answer in the comments section. I fully expect to be lambasted by a certain section of my readership...