Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

I can't believe that tax time has come and gone this year. Don't you just love our tax forms? They read something like: "Put total of line 7 on line 15 and divide by 3 unless this is a leap year in which case you put total of line 9 on line 24 and divide by 8. Then you do the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself around. That's what it's all about!" I personally just use that short form that says, "How much did you make? Send it in." Of course this year if you had stock options it could have read, "How much did you make? How much did you lose? Even if you lost more than you made, figure out a way to send it in even if you have to sell everything you have."

Although some might say that the IRS is nicer than it used to be, their power is still not to be toyed with. In other words, don't mess with the IRS. They really aren't customer oriented. In the April 16 Newsweek article, A Kinder, Gentler Face for the IRS, author Joan Raymond states that "More than a third of taxpayer phone calls still don't get through, and a report last week showed that when citizens do get through, they're given bad advice 47 per cent of the time." They really have a "don't call us, we'll call you" philosophy. Of course, what do you expect from a government that robs Peter to pay Paul? We're Peter, the government is Paul.

It's only fitting that we file taxes in April, since the average taxpayer now works at least that long to cover federal, state, and local government spending. That's right, folks, the first third goes to Uncle Sam, which is typically more than John Q. Public pays for food, clothes, and housing combined. That's a far cry more than the original 3% federal income tax law that Congress enacted in 1862. I'm sure that tax form was much easier to read. But as it is with everything our government gets its hands on, it probably didn't take long to make it confusing.

I'm so thankful that God's way is not confusing. (1 Corinthians 14:33) And God believes we should pay our taxes. Jesus said in Mark 12:17 to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's which basically means to pay taxes. Although the Caesar Augustus of Jesus' time was considered a supreme tax strategist, he couldn't hold a candle to the U.S. government.

But in the second half of Mark 12:17 Jesus says to "render unto God the things that are God's." God IS gentle and kind. He only requires 10%. I think He knew what He was doing when He only asked for a tithe of our income. He knew that governments would try to get the rest.

Additional thought from the Internet: Intaxication (n.): Euphoria at getting a tax refund until you realize it was your money anyway.

©April 2001

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