Government Insanity...My Personal Experience

Can I Get The Responsible Politicians To Bend Over?


The past month, in my spare time...you know...

"spare time"

that would be my time not spent chasing goblins in my computers or working in my basement trying to make a dime building things or driving across country to spend time and money taking programming classes...

that time...

I've been spending my spare time opening mail from various and sundry local, state, and federal Government agencies, all welcoming me and my new company to the business world. Of course in the process they also enthusiastically tell me how much it's going to cost me to try to do business in their city, county, state, and/or country and attempt to earn some semblance of a living.

Don't get me wrong...I knew it was ultimately coming.

You see, having owned most if not all of three Georgia Corporations back in the 1990's, and having been in a senior management position in another company in the 1980's, I'm well aware of the bullshit the government puts you through when you try to earn a living on your own and possibly create a few jobs for others in the process.

But still...

The tone of the current bureaucratic onslaught has tilted me back on my heals a bit because of their insidious, terse, even desperate-for-cash tone delivered in their correspondence.

It's like they believe any money you have already belongs to the government before you earn it or at least collect it from your customers.

These bastards are already overtly threatening me with penalties and interest if I don't comply to the letter of their confiscatory laws (with all of the associated I's dotted and T's crossed) even before I've made one single penny, and their "fees" and "assessments" and "licenses" are starting to add up.

And doing business in the state of Tennessee is cheap compared to many if not most states, BUT...

I just want to ask this this morning...

WHO THE %$#@ DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE?

Further, where the #$%@ do they think the money they're asking for comes from and how do they expect anyone to produce anything and offer employment to anyone else when they make it virtually impossible to do business without a lawyer and accountant looking over your shoulder every minute of every day?

Hello...

I'm waiting for an answer...

(que the sounds of the crickets chirping)

You want details?

It costs $100, paid to the Tennessee Secretary of State, to file incorporation papers establishing Plastics Engineering Technologies.

OK?

Then Knox County (or any other Tennessee county for that matter) wants a minimum "fee" of $24 for a "Business License", even if I never sell anything delivered in the entire state of Tennessee or more specifically Knox County or the City of Knoxville.

And then the Imperial Federal Government of the By-God United States of 'Merica's Internal Revenue Service let me elect to be a "Sub chapter S" Corporation for tax purposes (for "FREE"), but they also sent me a letter warning about using Dividends to pay Owners and Corporate Officers rather than paying taxable salaries and let me know that they have already set up a direct deposit electronic funds transfer account in the Corporation's name.

Gee...THANKS Mr./Mrs. IRS employees...

Meanwhile, back at the state level I was just blindsided with the Tennessee Franchise and Excise Tax last weekend.

Thankfully the Tennessee Department of Revenue helpfully sent me a letter indicating that they had already considerately set up an account in the company's name and let me know that our$100 minimum "Franchise and Excise Tax" fee was due and payable by April 15th next year.

Boy...I was happy that they took care of that for me.

In that same letter they also reminded me that I have to apply for a Tennessee Sales Tax Number (I already knew that and was putting it off) even though again I'll probably not sell or deliver anything into the state of Tennessee in 2009.

The thing I learned about "State sales tax numbers" while living and doing business in Georgia is that even if you owe no sales tax, if you don't fill out the forms and make the filings on time the assholes charge you a penalty for late filing.

I ended up paying Georgia near $100 a year for a couple of years for late quarterly tax forms until I decided to start paying "Bob the Accountant" a couple of thousand dollars a year to keep the Feds and State and City and County and Herpes and Gonorrhea and Aids and Fleas and Ticks and Athletes Foot and Jock Itch out of and off of me and my property.

I guess my point here in closing is this. It's easy for the population and the media to lament the current business climate and the lack of employment for so many Americans, but then again...look at the Crap Government makes people do when all they want to accomplish is earn a living.

I say if the Government would get out of the way and get their hands out of people's pockets the level of pain and suffering would be greatly reduced and go away all together about ten times faster than it will with them standing in the way of progress.

What about this concept is there to not understand?

Is it just ME?

that will be all...for now...dammit