That’s Elbert With An E

This is an old story, but I wish to comment, so bear with me. Recently eWeek posted a story about Sen. Chuck Schumer’s war against software companies that charge for tax filing. He takes it back to the IRS’s “outsourcing” of the process of electronic tax filing back under the Clinton administration 10 years ago. According to the article, software companies selling tax processing software has picked up over $1 billion dollars in fees for their services. Schumer’s argument is that these fees are an additional tax on people filing taxes electronically. He proposes that Americans should be able to file their taxes electronically by dealing directly with the IRS.

The article also states that it is cheaper for the IRS to process electronic returns than traditional paper returns.

The Joint Economic Committee’s analysis released April 14 notes the cost of processing paper returns is $2.50 per return; e-filed returns cost only 30 cents.

Intuit (Turbo Tax) and other software providers don’t just file those taxes, they guide you through potential ways you can save on your returns, like taking you through all the various deductions and look for credits that will reduce or eliminate your taxes paid. It’s almost like dealing with an accountant. I seriously doubt that the IRS electronic filing will be nothing more than plugging in numbers. Those than need help filing will more than likely not get the credits and other savings they would receive with a software provider.

Those of you readers who reside in Delaware or who need to file in Delaware may have encountered Delaware’s electronic filing system. It’s nothing more than a secure web form on which you simply plug in numbers. Granted, Delaware’s income tax returns are not near as complicated as the Federal returns, so simplicity is great. Could you imagine letting the IRS direct you through your taxes? I would not and have not trusted them.

Look, the democrats like to present themselves as a defender of the poor, which may suffer more for the fees than those with higher incomes. I know of at least two ways I have gotten free electronic filing on the web. One is at the web site taxfreedom.com. It’s operated by Intuit, those folks that sell Turbo Tax. For those making under $30,000 or active duty military or qualify for the Earned Income Credit, they provide free filing. In fact the first time I used that site they found an extra $500 for me! Second and the one I’ve used more recently, regular TurboTax on the web via my State Farm web site. I’m a customer, and by accessing my account on the web, I simply click on a link for Turbo Tax on the home page for my account. It’s possible that others may provide that service, but I don’t know. Now to be up front, they do charge for filing the state taxes, but like in Delaware you can file those yourself via their web site. The article mentions another site, Free File, which will point the user to free filing sites. I’ve not used it so I can’t comment on it.

Finally from the article:

“As long as the private sector continues to offer outstanding online tax preparation software—at a competitive price to those who buy it—and for free for the majority of Americans through Free File, there truly doesn’t seem to be any sense or benefit in implementing an I-File system,” said CCIA President and CEO Ed Black.

The private sector is meeting the need. Those that think the government is the solution to everything will look for ways to stretch it’s influence into more and more areas. It will be a big waste of taxpayer dollars. Schumer and the democrats need to leave it alone. Lower or remove the income tax, that will help us. Even do something to lower gas prices, like letting somebody drill in ANWR or off our coastlines. That is where it matters.

The article is located at this link.

Microsoft is supposed to be releasing Service Pack 3 for Windows XP today, April 29. It will be the final major update for this version of Windows. PC Magazine reports:

Windows XP SP3 is really an accumulation of updates for compatibility, security, and performance. It doesn’t contain new features found in Vista…

So the average user won’t see much of a change to their OS, unlike Service Pack 2 which introduced a lot of new and annoying features. That is not to say that SP3 is unnecessary. Adding those security updates to your computer is an important exercise.

If you want to grab the update yourself, go to Microsoft Download Center. PC Mag reports that the full installation is 580MB. If you have your computer set for automatic updates, you can wait and get it there sometime around the beginning of June.

UPDATE: I’m behind on this. They delayed the release. PC Magazine story.

I feel almost ashamed that I, as a lover of technology, don’t own a portable media player, such as an iPod or Zune. In addition but on a lower shame level, I don’t play video games, at least not the modern games on XBox or Wii. It’s sure not for a fear of technology, as I’d have a media player if it wasn’t for shelling out the dough. I’d rather buy a player for one of my children, which is more of a sacrifice thing. The video game thing is a total different issue. If the games were more appealing to me, I’d try it, but they just aren’t. Additionally and primarily, there is a learning curve that is just too large. It takes too long to master, or maybe a better way to put it, it takes too long to play it in a competent fashion.

The AP has a story today discussing parents playing video games with their children. Probably surprising some people, a study reported that 43% of parents don’t play video games with their children. It is surprising because, at least to me, it seems kind of low. I would expect a figure more in the 60-70% range. I think the likelihood that parents would do some activity with their children is high, but the likelihood of those parents playing video games, in my opinion is very low.

See the story: Many Parents Avoid Video Games With Kids.

Here’s some more news on the Comcast traffic blocking story (I wrote about it near the end of this post). On 10/22, the New York Times had an article regarding Comcast’s blocking of peer-to-peer traffic. According to the article, Comcast “occasionally – but not always – delays some peer-to-peer file transfers that eat into Internet speeds for other users on the network.” If there is some truth to this, I can understand the desire to manage network traffic to benefit all subscribers, but I seriously doubt that a few peer-to-peer software users are using so much bandwidth that it’s going to mess up service to other Comcast users. Now there’s a complaint filed at the FCC against Comcast. SaveTheInternet.com has filed this complaint, which is discussed in the press release here. I guess this isn’t going to end real soon is it?

This post is for my friends using Gmail. I don’t follow the Gmail Blog, otherwise I would have seen this coming. Have you noticed that the space counter on Gmail has been escalating? I know it’s bumped up at least 600MB in the last week or so. According to their blog, they are adding more space to keep up with the users that are maxing out their available space. I have heard that Hotmail’s mailboxes are up to 5GB and Yahoo is now offering unlimited space, so it is possible that this move is designed to avoid losing users to other email services. Along with the increase in space, they are now offering IMAP. This is perfect for those of us that would like to have Gmail archive their old email. I’ve got about 4 years worth of mail sitting in my Outlook program that I didn’t want to loose, so most of it is now sitting on some Gmail server somewhere.  I’m a pack rat, and my email is not removed from my collecting ways. Even with most of the mail I’ve got archived, I’m still only using about 5% of the space available on Gmail. I guess I just don’t measure up to most.

I was just looking over my Most Played list on Winamp. I was surprised by the list, and I thought I’d share it to give you a taste of what I’ve been listening to lately.

1 Jars of Clay - There Is A River (Good Monsters)
2 Krystal Meyers - The Beauty of Grace (Dying For A Heart)
3 The Almost - Drive There Now! (Southern Weather)
4 The Almost - Say This Sooner (Southern Weather)
5 Jars of Clay - All My Tears (Good Monsters)
6 Kutless - Promise of A Lifetime (Hearts of The Innocent)
7 Jeremy Camp - Beyond Measure (Beyond Measure)
8 The Almost - Dirty and Left Out (Southern Weather)
9 Anberlin - Godspeed (Cities)
10 The Almost - Amazing, Because It Is (Southern Weather)
11 The Almost - Everyone Here Smells Like A Rat (Southern Weather)
12 Coldplay - Clocks (A Rush of Blood To The Head)
13 Decyfer Down - Fight Like This (End of Grey)
14 The Fray - Look After You (How To Save A Life)
15 Jeremy Camp - Let It Fade (Beyond Measure)
16 The Almost - Everything That Makes Me Sick (Southern Weather)
17 The Almost - Never Say “I Told You So” (Southern Weather)
18 The Almost - Southern Weather (Southern Weather)
19 The Almost - I Mostly Copy Other People (Southern Weather)
20 Relient K - Give (Five Score and Seven Years Ago)

I didn’t think I had played The Almost’s Southern Weather that much. It’s a straight rock and roll album. A couple of the songs start sounding the same toward the end of the recording, despite that it’s enjoyable. “Say This Sooner” just has a fresh sound, highlighting the acoustic guitar a couple of times. This recording is a side project by Aaron Gillespie, the drummer from Underoath. He performs most everything on the album, pulling a few guests into the studio. The Almost has evolved into a full band now, which makes live performances much easier on the musician and the audience (ha ha, that was supposed to be funny). Unlike his other group, The Almost is scream-free, which is great to these more sensitive ears. I love the crazy song titles, common on both band’s song line-up. Song titles like “I’ve Got 10 Friends and a Crowbar That Says You Ain’t Gonna Do Jack” and “Everyone Here Smells Like A Rat” are obnoxiously long and at least semi-clever. An article about the band is here.

Now on to more songs and artists on my list. Jars of Clay’s “There Is A River” is a song of hope with that touch of the 70’s sound in the musical bridge that just has me hooked. The eerie sound of “All My Tears” couples nicely with the lyrical topic on death. I love the power ballad sound of Krystal Meyers’ “The Beauty of Grace”. I’ve been a fan of Jeremy Camp ever since I heard “Understand” from his first national album Stay. His latest album Beyond Measure shows some growth as an artist and writer, and avoids some of the blandness of his last album Restored.

Here’s some trivia on Krystal Meyers. Her father is the programmer behind the free Bible study software, E-Sword. I’ve used this software off and on long before his daughter started recording. It’s a worthwhile download if you like working with some of the classic Christian works.