‘ The Taxman Cometh’: A Poem by Cheryl Corey The Society February 25, 2024 Culture, Poetry 11 Comments . The Taxman Cometh Get out your Number Two and calculate Your taxable income; what, if anything, You owe. The taxman doesn’t like to wait, And government has to fill its money chest. That hated agency, the IRS, Is ammo’d up and willing to arrest. Who doesn’t dread the strongly-worded letter; The threat of fines; or even worse, an audit That subjugates you like an iron fetter? The tax code’s nearly seven thousand pages— A bureaucratic stew of legalese, With rules enough to send you into rages. So ante up. What’s due is due—your “share.” Illegals getting freebies? Never mind. Just pay. Whoever said that life is fair? . Poet’s Note: The federal tax code is 6,871 pages; 74,608 pages if you add regulations and instructions! . . Cheryl Corey is a poet who lives in Connecticut. “Three Sisters,” her trio of poems about the sisters of Fate which were first published by the Society of Classical Poets, are featured in “Gods and Monsters,” an anthology of mythological poems (MacMillan Children’s Books, 2023). NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 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Reply Cheryl Corey February 25, 2024 If your blood’s not already boiling, Roy, this link to Senator Rand Paul’s 2023 Festivus report highlights more government waste. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Festivus-2023.pdf The report is 25 pages, but page 2 will give you an idea of the obscene ways that government has wasted taxpayer money. Reply C.B. Anderson February 25, 2024 Everyone should bear in mind that all taxation is theft. Think about it. The wasteful ways these funds are spent only adds insult to the injury. And you have just reminded me that I need to get started on my tax return. Reply Cheryl Corey February 25, 2024 It’s always easy to waste other people’s money, C.B. The people we elect who are supposed to represent us in Congress are part of the problem. They get to Washington and before you know it, they’re feeding at the trough. Oink, oink. Reply Cynthia Erlandson February 25, 2024 Thank you for succinctly expressing what so many of us are thinking, Cheryl! Reply Joseph S. Salemi February 25, 2024 To anyone out there who is stupid enough to think of voting for Biden this year, remember this: If the Democrat Party wins, extortionate taxation with SWAT-team enforcement powers will hit you so hard you’ll never be the same. Just a friendly warning. Reply Cheryl Corey February 25, 2024 The IRS has spent $10 million on weaponry and gear since 2020. Why so many bullets and battering rams, except to target the middle class and small to mid-size business? The wealthy have teams of accountants to handle their tax issues. Reply Mark Stellinga February 26, 2024 Great upper-cut, Cheryl – when you think of what the middle-classers are being forced to subsidize it definitely *stokes the fire*, and Joe’s dead right about what’s in store if the Democrats retain the White House. Nice punch! Reply Margaret Coats February 26, 2024 A proper focus on fear and oppression in the tax game. By now, frightened feelings are so widespread that many taxpayers with uncomplicated situations are afraid to file without consulting a professional, lest they make an unintentional error. And scammers capitalize on the fear, with robo calls trying to rob people who did “just pay,” telling them they owe more. Good job, Cheryl, and there’s material for a “pay more or else” sequel. Reply Cheryl Corey February 26, 2024 I used to do my own taxes, but now I have a CPA do them just to be on the safe side. Reply Adam Sedia March 3, 2024 One of my proudest moments in law school was getting an “A” in federal income taxation. My professor was something of a libertarian, and did a good job of explaining why the tax code mushrooms out to 7000 pages – it’s all about the government making sure it gets its pound of flesh. But the best part of your poem is how it ends. A byzantine tax code is one thing; using it to subjugate taxpayers as second-class citizens is another. 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Roy Eugene Peterson February 25, 2024 We could save billions in costs like illegal immigrants government subsidized abortions, and most foreign aid not to mention climate, UN, and other wastes of our resources. Taxation to make payments without our approval. So true! So glad you made that point! Reply
Cheryl Corey February 25, 2024 If your blood’s not already boiling, Roy, this link to Senator Rand Paul’s 2023 Festivus report highlights more government waste. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Festivus-2023.pdf The report is 25 pages, but page 2 will give you an idea of the obscene ways that government has wasted taxpayer money. Reply
C.B. Anderson February 25, 2024 Everyone should bear in mind that all taxation is theft. Think about it. The wasteful ways these funds are spent only adds insult to the injury. And you have just reminded me that I need to get started on my tax return. Reply
Cheryl Corey February 25, 2024 It’s always easy to waste other people’s money, C.B. The people we elect who are supposed to represent us in Congress are part of the problem. They get to Washington and before you know it, they’re feeding at the trough. Oink, oink. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson February 25, 2024 Thank you for succinctly expressing what so many of us are thinking, Cheryl! Reply
Joseph S. Salemi February 25, 2024 To anyone out there who is stupid enough to think of voting for Biden this year, remember this: If the Democrat Party wins, extortionate taxation with SWAT-team enforcement powers will hit you so hard you’ll never be the same. Just a friendly warning. Reply
Cheryl Corey February 25, 2024 The IRS has spent $10 million on weaponry and gear since 2020. Why so many bullets and battering rams, except to target the middle class and small to mid-size business? The wealthy have teams of accountants to handle their tax issues. Reply
Mark Stellinga February 26, 2024 Great upper-cut, Cheryl – when you think of what the middle-classers are being forced to subsidize it definitely *stokes the fire*, and Joe’s dead right about what’s in store if the Democrats retain the White House. Nice punch! Reply
Margaret Coats February 26, 2024 A proper focus on fear and oppression in the tax game. By now, frightened feelings are so widespread that many taxpayers with uncomplicated situations are afraid to file without consulting a professional, lest they make an unintentional error. And scammers capitalize on the fear, with robo calls trying to rob people who did “just pay,” telling them they owe more. Good job, Cheryl, and there’s material for a “pay more or else” sequel. Reply
Cheryl Corey February 26, 2024 I used to do my own taxes, but now I have a CPA do them just to be on the safe side. Reply
Adam Sedia March 3, 2024 One of my proudest moments in law school was getting an “A” in federal income taxation. My professor was something of a libertarian, and did a good job of explaining why the tax code mushrooms out to 7000 pages – it’s all about the government making sure it gets its pound of flesh. But the best part of your poem is how it ends. A byzantine tax code is one thing; using it to subjugate taxpayers as second-class citizens is another. Reply
