Double Taxation

Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

A few thingsyou may have missed thisweekend while filling out your brackets.[Ed note: You’re not going to win.]

In a recent telephone survey, 55% of U.S. voters said Americans pay too much tax. Eight percent saidwe don’t pay enough tax, while the remaining 37% were primarily concerned withwhen the McRib was coming back.

The sad saga of former Met and PhillieLenny Dykstra now includes a three-year prison sentence and a $30,000 unpaid California tax debt.At his best, Dykstrawas a hard-nosed center fielder who led the Philsto the 1993 World Series. (As an aside, in my opinion that ’93 team represented the dawn of the steroidera in baseball, with Dykstra himself famously attributing his new-found bulk that seasonto “using some good vitamins, you know”. Dykstra apparently wasn’t alone, as much of the Phillies’ lineup had career power years they would never reproduce.)

After Dykstra’s playing days, he briefly had the world convinced he was a stock market genius, before the house of cards his reputation was built on began tocrumble. Recently, Dykstra reached his nadir — not an easy task, considering he was previouslyaccused of stiffing his employees out of salary, his mom out of a $23,000 credit card charge, and escorts out of their hard earned cash — bypleading guilty to grand theft auto.

Over at Forbes, Robert Wood weighs the merits of a tax break for mustache wearers, which, if nothing else, would provide a boon for relief pitchers and porn actors.

Finally, CNN Money published an article detailing the craziest items ever deducted on a tax return, which while enlightening, isn’t nearly as entertaining as this list of the craziest items removed from one’s ears, nose, and uh…other orifices at the ER.

Lastly, this goes without saying, but tax season is a bear. Thedemands on our timecontinuously increase, and free time is at a premium. When I can geta few hours to myself, I like to remind myself why I live in the mountains. This weekend,I had the luxury of spending an afternoongetting chauffeuredaround the 13,000 foot summits of the Northern San Juansby a helicopter for some world-class skiing.Good times. I’m in the blue jacket/yellow gloves, and the video was shot party bymy ski partner, and partlyfrom a POV perspective with my helmet camera.

If still photos are more your thing, below are some images from my time inthe San Juans, perhaps the most striking range in the Rockies.
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