If you haven’t filed your 2021 taxes yet, you have until Monday, April 18 this year, instead of the usual April 15 deadline, thanks to a locally recognized public holiday — Emancipation Day — in the District of Columbia that has IRS offices closed on Friday. The D.C. Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 ended slavery in Washington, D.C., and is celebrated on April 16. In the way of public holidays, that means Friday is a day off for those lucky folks with “banker’s hours” in Washington. Which seems like everybody in Washington.
I used to think teaching would be a good way to take summers off and have regular vacations (Christmas, spring break), but I’m beginning to think politics might be the ideal way to have the most time off. Don’t believe me? Watch a little C-SPAN and look at all the empty seats in Congress.
And back to taxes, I think we’re all probably in agreement that the system is seriously flawed. Some people (on both ends of the economic spectrum) pay little to nothing, and the rest of us are left holding the bag. At the very least, it would be nice to simplify the process so the average person can fill out the forms without fear, figure out what they owe or overpaid, and trust they aren’t going to be hounded by the IRS down the road.
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com
