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Words and pixels by M. Scott Smith

It's Tax Day... 🔗

It's April 15, and that can mean only one thing. The season finale of NBC's hit show The Apprentice. (You know, in case you hadn't heard a million times already. Come on, NBC. The show's really not that great.)

No, April 15 means it's tax day. And a real good day to avoid going to the Post Office unless you absolutely have to or have an affinity for Disney-style lines.

I spent some quality time with TurboTax about a month ago doing my taxes. For 2003, my total Federal and State income taxes came in just below $30,000. Only a few years ago, that amount exceeded my annual income.

Am I bitter about paying that much money in taxes? Absolutely not. I feel privileged to live in this country. When soldiers are putting their lives on the line each day in Iraq, paying taxes seems like a small burden. This is a great country to live in, and I believe in paying my dues.

Do I think current tax policy is a bit backwards? Heck, yes. As I went through TurboTax and saw the updated tax tables, and how they have changed over the past three years, it was clear without a shadow of a doubt that the tax burden of this country has been shifted from the rich to the working and middle class. I don't think that's right.

I don't believe in the "trickle down" theory and I don't like that the Federal budget -- which had been painstakingly balanced in the 90's -- is once again ballooning out of control. Where did the fiscal discipline go?

And while I'm in a complaining kind of mood, I'll also mention for the record that I just don't like spam. The e-mail variety or the canned variety.

That is all.

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