This is my last tax season with Megatax (not their real name). I don't know, the corporate atmosphere just seems a bit hostile.
No, that's not really true. What is true is that Megatax company charges way too damn much money. In about a third of the clients, I feel offended when the computer picks the price. Often the price strikes me as over the line into abusive territory. The franchise owner programs the desired price into the computer, and prices are based on the number of forms prepared and the relative complexity of each. In many cases, this provides a reasonable price for the work done. In other cases, it equates to about $400 an hour. I mean, I'm good, but I'm not THAT good. $200 an hour is closer to reality. The Big Four I'm not.
But how can they pay my huge salary without charging such prices? Easy. My salary isn't huge, it's minimum wage plus bonus. There is pressure from above to avoid overtime at all costs, so tax preparers often work off the clock to keep up or to avoid offending clients with poor service. This game is really popular with a lot of greedy accounting firms: pressure the staff to "eat time," work off the clock, or get fired. Obviously, I am not worried about getting fired, as the company needs me a lot more than I need them.
I have applied for my federal e-file number so I can begin filing returns electronically. I have a sizable hunk of business lined up in corporate tax returns. I will do what I can at Megatax, but after April 15, it's sayanara baby. Then it's gonna be Stogie, Light and Puff, Tax Accountants. Yeah baby. Hope I won't make an ash of myself.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
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3 comments:
Great idea, Stogie. We pay our tax preparer about $250.00 to prepare our individual and business taxes. One reason it's so cheap is that I have everything very carefully prepared and about all they have to do is plug the numbers into the appropriate slot. She's also very good at "hinting" that certain numbers should be "looked at again." Wink, wink.
That being said, all my crap is piled on my desk waiting for my magic touch. Every year I go through this . I put it off and put it off. When I finally do it, I discover it's pretty darn easy and fast. When will I ever learn??? Sigh...
Yeah Adrienne, I understand. Doing your taxes is not fun, even when you expect a refund.
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