Life, death and taxes

It’s a gorgeous day in New York today. These types of days don’t happen too often here. It’s almost always too hot or too cold, but today is absolutely perfect with just under 80 degree weather.

I also filed my taxes today given the IRS extended the filing deadline to May 17th. My plan of taking my tax bill and investing it for another month backfired as the market decided to take a dump over the last couple of weeks. Thanks IRS!

I always find it really funny when people start to make enough money to start owing taxes versus getting a refund. Every year I get texts from my friends wondering why they have to pay taxes this year compared to last year when they got money back. It’s a complete shock to them and they’re always disappointed when they realize that this is the new norm for them.

I remember when I was working at PwC doing taxes for hedge funds and private equity firms, I sat next to a girl who started in my class. I’m pretty sure she got the job solely because her dad was an alumni of the firm and knew the right people. This job was not her calling and she barely understood a thing about taxes. Her dad did her taxes and sent her the return. She immediately started crying as she was wondering why she wasn’t getting a big refund that year.

I had to explain to her that she moved to NYC and taxes were higher and the firm withheld just enough to cover her tax bill which meant she wasn’t getting anything back. She told me that she had gone shopping and ran up a bill on her credit card expecting to pay it off with her refund.

She was “coached out” of the job a month later.