| There is something to be said about the power of our | | | | the next six months trying to prove why I need pens |
| imagination. It can come up with some amazing things, | | | | for my business. I didn’t have time to do that. I had |
| but also create some horror shows that Stephen King | | | | a business to run. I was going to be bankrupted… |
| would admire. This is particularly true when it comes to | | | | I was in a good lather by the time I got home. I walked |
| getting a notice from a tax agency in the mail. | | | | in the door giving off such bad vibes, my friendly dog |
| I live in California. This means my business and | | | | did a u-turn and headed for the backyard. After some |
| individual taxes are controlled by the Franchise Tax | | | | liquid courage, I opened the letter and read closely. |
| Board. The “FTB” makes the IRS look like | | | | Guess what? It was sort of good news. California |
| Mother Theresa. It is nasty agency that will spare no | | | | charges incorporated businesses $800 a year for the |
| penny going making a taxpayer’s life utterly | | | | “privilege of doing business in California.” I had |
| miserable. Given this reputation, you can imagine how I | | | | apparently paid mine twice for some fiscal year, once |
| felt when I opened my post office box and found a | | | | at the beginning and once at the end. I was getting an |
| thick letter from the FTB among my bills and junk mail. | | | | $800 refund plus interest! |
| Oh, no. | | | | Suffice to say, I was not going to be audited, ruined or |
| The distance from the post office to my home is | | | | thrown into bankruptcy. Heck, I was even going to get |
| about 2 miles. Being California, there is a traffic light | | | | a nice refund. The letter of death turned out to be no |
| every 10 feet or so. This gave me plenty of time to | | | | problem at all. This is often the case, so don’t fret |
| consider what was in the letter. Why not open it? No, I | | | | like me when you get a notice in the mail. Open it up to |
| was going to need an adult beverage for this. It was | | | | see what it is and avoid the nightmare scenarios your |
| probably an audit notice. I was probably going to spend | | | | imagination can come up with! |