taxes smack ya in the face

I spent 2004 as a sole proprietor - call me lazy,
I just didn't want to fill out the extra paperwork
to incorporate.

Now I owe about $11,000 in taxes. I paid my
estimated - about $5400. I will probably owe
another $5800.

Why am I being penalized for being hard-
working and self-employed? I have to now scrounge
the next few months of income to pay the government
for last year while jeopardizing the ability to pay my
bills this year.

This just doesn't make sense to me. And I don't
even like what my tax dollars are going to.

Comments

[Tery]

Aliza, I can totally understand where you are coming from. I've been self-employed for many years, I'm being penalized for not being able to find work in 2001. We all know what happened in 2001 but I was told by the IRS agent that's not a good enough excuse. Go figure.

[KellyLove]

I feel your pain! I freelanced for two years, full time...the same number of years I was able to claim a loss. Taxes were definitely a factor in my decision to work as an editor full time and write selectively on my own. It's really frustrating.

The first year, what I paid my accountant to do my taxes was more than my refund (refund because I was vigilant about paying taxes quarterly). The second, I owed at the end of the year (and had to set up a monthly schedule to be able to pay). Then I got audited for the prior year, and I ended up paying for that one too.