JohnH

The snake story reminds me of the bicycle chase scene from "What's Up Doc" with Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neil. One of the funniest moments in film history as far as I'm concerned. The van flattened on the street side and the broken window pane near the end are classics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpAWpgZV-K0

Just make my "contributions" figure about the same as last year.

Good suggestion. Another approach would be to choose an alternate vendor and let ATX serve as your backup this upcoming tax season, maybe on a pay-per-return basis. Then if they prove themselves worthy, you can switch back to ATX provided they give you pricing which will offset part of the addtional costs you incurred.

I often keep it even simpler. I frequently just conference the client in on the call so they can give verbal OK for the agent to speak with me. There are, of course, situations when I don't do that, but they are the exception.

I'll bet you could work up your own stand-up routine based on your dealing with her. Now if there were only a Tax Preparers' Comedy Club...

Oh, that must be it. This NEVER happened in the past - instant service was the norm before the sequester...

Yes, I've had to wait while the IRS rep retrieved the authorization - sometimes 20 minutes or so. Last week I even had to re-send it when it didn't show up after waiting for some period of time. That's why I have a speakerphone...

And I'm betting it's also uphill in both directions. :)

My favorite senior citizen discount story goes back many years, to the time when fast food retaurants first inroduced senior discounts. My wife's sister and brother-in-law had stopped by a Hardee's to buy breakfast at the drive-through. As they rolled up the the window, the young cashier excitedly told them the restaurant now offers senior dicounts and they could save 10% by just signing up. My wife's sister (who was slighly over 60 at the time) replied with a question - "What made you think we would qualify for the discount?" The young cashier replied sheepishly, "The manager told me to just use my judgment."

And let's never forget that if the taxpayer qualifies for the home office deduction because they store product in there, then this opens up the deduction for food and vet bills for the "security cat" who guards their inventory.

The bike is an ordinary and necessary business expense. What better way to speed up your circulation and boost the amount of oxygen in your brain betweeen returns?

Now my mind is dredging up images of Les Nessman's separate office in "WKRP in Cincinatti" - an imaginary line drawn on the floor and an invisible door that people had to open and close.

That's a pretty smart computer - looks like it senses what it's getting into if it opens 2012...

And if prices aren't higher by then, just back up and sell it now.,,

There's an old sales technique sometimes known as "striplining". It is borrowed from fishing terminology, and makes them think they are off the hook while you are simultaneously preparing to set the hook. Basically, it involves shifting the customer into a "neutral" condition and slowing them down when they're in a state of indecision. Then you gradually feed them little bits of info designed to move them in the direction you want them to go, but only in litte steps. At some point they are so heavily invested in your product, as so worn down by the process, that they pull the trigger in your favor in order to get it over with and make the pain of indecision go away. (Auto dealers are experts at this). Does anyone else see any parallels here?

Calculatog the actual difference might be a little tricky. Even someone who exceeds the $1,500 might still be better off using it. They would get the $1,500 PLUS still get the full deduction for mortgage interest and and taxes. Adjust for the loss of the excess deduction against S/E tax and you can arrive at a net difference. Then there's the likely reduction in audit potential...

Good luck with that one...

And the winner is: Trois Pommes They've gained more publicity from Oprah's bullying than they could have possibly bought in the media. The vast majority of Oprah's fans, and the vast majority of the world, wouldn't be stupid enough to pay $38K for a handbag, so it isn't as though Trois Pommes has lost any business. And anyone with enough money and little enough sense to spend that much on a handbag isn't likely to know more about Oprah than what most foreigners would know anyhow - just another pushy American trying to throw their weight around. You see them all the time in foreign countries - acting obnoxious and generally being an embarrassment. ("Can't ANYBODY in this shop speak ENGLISH?!!) Yes, by all means let's keep burnishing that "Ugly American" stereotype. If the owner wants to appeal to their European clientele, they will put a tag on the handbag that reads, "The Bag Oprah Couldn't Afford". It will probably sell over the weekend and they'll need to re-stock in order to meet the demand. Besides, didn't we go down this road before in Paris? Oh yes, that was fodder for an apology show or two wasn't it? Maybe after they've sold a half-dozen $38K bags the owner of Trois Pommes can get on the schedule for a redemption program.

I'm looking forward to the results of the Beta testing as well. Drake is now my primary vendor and I expect them to continue to be so until I retire. But I don't take anything for granted and even in my small practice I think it's important to have a backup plan. I'd like to have ATX as my backup vendor since I'm already familiar with it. Much better to have a familiar company as your backup vendor than one you have to learn all over again.

Dependability is way overrated. After all, this is only our clients' most sensitive data. Just curious. Now that you've switched to Drake, have you identified your backup vendor? In my mind, that second step is just as important as the first. (Not just identified, but also implemented).

Nothing wrong with being youthful and idealistic. The problem is, it's only correct if you do it with your own money. When you begin to use the power of the government to confiscate the property of others to achieve your altruistic goals, it becomes nothing more than legalized theft.

Don't get short with me.

I'm shocked you're not staying current on things, Eric.

Ohm, my? Very good :)

Resistance is ......