Thursday, February 23, 2006

Kill The Tax-Man!


It's that time of year again. The time when good ol' skeezy Uncle Sam starts patting down the country's working poor for the last bits of change in their pockets. If you are unlucky enough to be in a family, where the sole breadwinner is a commercial fisherman, it is an even leaner time of year.

You see, there are two types of commercial fishermen. There are the boat owners who have alot of tax right-offs and deductions just from the upkeep of a boat. Then you have the crew members, who don't have any right offs and not enough deductions to make a difference, but are in the same tax bracket as the guys who do. My husband is in the second catagory. Every year, it feels like the government is stripping us down at our lowest moment of the year. I scrimp and save and we never have enough when it's time to pay Big Brother. Then, we endure a year of warnings of "Intent To Levy" as we barely make each payment. I have written letters to our governor and senators to change the tax laws, but no one seems to care. I am hoping my husband will get a land job, because the money in fishing just isn't what it used to be and hasn't for a long time. It seems like we make alot on paper at the end of the year, but when you don't get paid on a schedule (a couple thousand here, then three months of no money and maybe six hundred there), and then are expected to pay the government 10 grand when you are barely able to pay basic bills, well... it just isn't fair.

I want to get out of debt so bad. I haven't been to the doctor since my youngest was born (I'm diabetic and cannot afford insurance), reuse some medical supplies to make it stretch, shop at the Salvation Army for clothes (thank goodness they get alot of nice stuff), and only shop sale items at the grocery store. I don't know what else to do. I am considering a debt consolidation company to help with the credit card debt (used them when we had no money and taxes due) and I am looking into "Offer and Compromise". I just cross my fingers and pray for good pay and maybe a few forgiving debt collectors. Things are getting a little tight and it's still pretty cold out.

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