Life and taxes

Snow on plum blossoms

     Its spring, it's snowing, and I'm doing the taxes.  Our taxes are conventional; regular, W-2 sources of income, mortgage, medical and charitable deductions.  It is simple, but not easy, because I have to run the same forms again and again, as if.
     For the feds, Judy and I must file separately.  Following the Defense of Marriage Act, our finances and lives cannot be considered joined for any federally-governed  program including Social Security, Medicare supplemental insurance and, of course income taxes.  So how do we  handle the deductions? Split them down the middle?  One of us  take all and the other take the standard deduction?  Which one should take the standard deduction? And be sure to keep those medical deductions absolutely separate. I calculate three variations of the same Schedule A.  Then it really gets good.

Voting NO means yes, build the library

     We send to the State of Oregon  the federal returns we really sent in to the IRS, plus another, pretend  federal return which we  actually have to mark AS IF.  As if we could file as married filing jointly or married filing separately.  So I run  the same small numbers twice more, and choose one AS IF federal form  on which to base our joint Oregon return.

Voting Yes means  no, don't build the library

     In Clackamas County we voted a few years ago to raise our property taxes permanently in order to fund public libraries.  Part of the deal included plans for a big modern  library to be built in Gladstone, a mile and half from our house. I served on one of the many committees to plan the services and design for the new library.  The site has been selected, the plans drawn and approved, but now there is a tax revolt in the City of Gladstone.  The Save Gladstone ( from a library?) Committee has succeeded in  getting a charter amendment measure onto the May ballot that would stop the new library from being built.

Brendan dancing

Magnificat

    
     What can you do but laugh?  Dancing and singing also help.   Our friend Nicole's son is a fine Irish dancer, who will compete internationally in Belfast at Easter.  Brendan and his Comerford Schol of Irish Dance entertained  us on St. Patrick's day.
      The Francis Street Singers performed Perti's Magnificat on Tuesday. We sang,  "Magnificat anima mea Dominum," meaning, "My soul magnifies  the Lord." Doesn't everybody's?