Free! No Limitations! But No Netfile and No Quebec TP-1-V Taxman 2016
Amazingly, my first client sold their principal residence and I got to
test out the newly revised Schedule 3. Sadly, it didn't appear on the
print menu, so that is why Version 1.1 has come to be. Version 1.2 adds a
few warnings and some minor improvements, but it's not a critical
upgrade.
Supposedly on the tax return for Donald Trump's charity there's a box that essentially asks if you were cheating in the tax year and, if you answer yes, there's another box that asks if you have been cheating in other past years too. I was stunned at both questions, clearly the IRS isn't leaving any stone unturned. Mind you, the US needs the money with all the wars they're fighting, but the IRS must be frightening to deal with. |
|
Listening to the small US radio station from across
the strait, I've heard ads for a half-dozen tax firms saying: "If you
owe the IRS $10,000 or more, give us a call!" Stunned again! How could
the Tax Doctor or Tax Defence Partners make enough money to pay for
those ads? One clue is that they want you owing at least ten grand or
don't show up — so their fee will be in the thousands, not hundreds. But
are there the numbers of frightened taxpayers out there to justify a
national ad campaign? Well, if you believe in the power of the market,
it must be so or these tax-shysters wouldn't be spending the money. And
what's even more frightening — so many lost souls desperately needing
help but instead are being preyed upon by those who have turned the once
honourable profession of preparing tax returns into a scam.
Speaking of frightened Americans, it seems to me that the only thing they're afraid of is the blow to their image. Who would have guessed those egalitarian Americans were such snobs? Especially the media, forced to take seriously a tweeting Berlusconi-buffoon. But the real victims will be Trump's peers, the 1% who will be hard pressed to keep up the myth that all their money makes them not only the smartest guys in the room, but a class above the rest. Which is what the US election was all about. Nobody thinks Trump is actually going to defeat the corporations and bring back the middle class. This was more about waving one finger in the air at those who think the country's doing fine. These are historic times. With Trump as their leader we stand a good chance of seeing the total destruction of the Republican brand. And the failed Democrat brand will have to go back to the drawing board too. It will take awhile before US politicians come to grips with the fact that they're dealing with an angry mob. So what happens in four year's time after Trump has failed? (Which he must do because the only solution is for the US to stop its wars and come home and build more hospitals and bridges and maybe a guaranteed annual income for all — and fat chance on any of that happening.) In the land of mice whom will they vote for? They've voted in short-haired white corporate cats for years and that didn't work. They tried a curly-haired black cat, but things got cooler not better. And it won't be long before the incoming long-haired celeb cat is found flipped on his back grooming his gonads. And when the picture goes viral, to whom will the mice turn? A hairless bernie? |
|
Before mailing in that tax return, just to be safe, come back and download the latest upgrade.
If you already have the full Taxman program installed on your computer (it doesn't matter which year just so long as it works), then you only need:  Taxman2016 Upgrade Version 1.2 (16setup2.exe, 1.82 MB)Revised Feb 27, 2017 Download Upgrade Version 1.2 Now!
After downloading, just double-click 16setup2.exe to
install. A shortcut to run the program will appear on your Start Menu
and your Desktop. Your data files are 16tables.mdb and taxbiz.mdb —
back'em up! During an install your data files, if they already exist,
are never replaced, but an uninstall will deleted them forevermore. If
you used Taxman in the past, go to 'Tools\Data Transfer' on the menu and
press 'Get Basics from past year' to update 16tables.mdb with the
unlikely to change stuff in 15tables.mdb. After Get Basics runs you'll
be asked if you want to update taxbiz.mdb, say Yes because the structure
of taxbiz.mdb has changed and you need to use the new file (look up
'Data Transfer' in the Help index for more).
|
|
Otherwise you must get the full program, the El Gordo version: Taxman2016 Full Version 1.2 (16txmf2.exe, 7.23 MB) Revised Feb 27, 2017 Download Full Taxman Version 1.2 Now!
After downloading, double-click 16txmf2.exe to install. The first
time you install Taxman, if asked, do not replace any newer files that
you already have on your computer. Only replace files if Taxman fails to
work. Save the file 16txmf2.exe, it may not always be on the internet. |
 New for 2016
The feds have joined BC, ON and NB with a Schedule 12
which they call Home Accessibility Expenses. If you double-click any of
the labels at the top of any Schedule 12, a form pops up and lets you
bring if data from any other Schedule 12 in this year's database. But
remember that, just to make thing difficult, the federal rules differ
from what the provinces find acceptable, so it's up to you to make sure
that the transferred data is allowed on the receiving schedule.
The Liberals killed Schedule 1-A, the family tax cut, and next year they intend to kill the children's fitness and arts credits. For this year though, the federal children's fitness and arts credits have been cut in half, while the provincial credits for MB, BC and YT are unchanged. The Conservatives got themselves elected with all these kids' deductions and now the Liberals have got themselves elected by throwing them out. The politicians buy our votes and we then run around getting our papers in order so we can claim our little deductions. Aren't we all wasting our lives here? The scary news is that CRA now wants us to declare on Schedule 3 if we've disposed of a principal residence. It used to be if you sold your principal residence and you figured there were no taxes owing, you didn't have to mention it to CRA at all, you did nothing. I've always thought it magnanimous of the government to trust us on the matter and make it so much harder for them to catch us — it seems they've now figured that out too. The fact that CRA's rental forms have additional instructions for the Airbnb folks (hinting that they should be using the business forms) shows they're trying to keep up with the times. And the T1 Adjustment Request form now has an "optional" section where you get to say why you're filing this request. Big Brother is getting cleverer, asking more questions and filling up their computers with data. It's only a matter of time before there's nowhere to hide and the taxpayer will become just another victim of the computer revolution. Also with the T1 Adjustment form, if you sent your tax return to Surrey, you now mail your adjustment to Winnipeg; and if St John's was your tax centre, then your adjustment goes to Sudbury. Sounds like CRA is consolidating resources. Hopefully the goal is to save big bucks — it's certainly not to making things simpler and easier for the poor taxpayer.  Bugs and Version History
Payroll programs have been around for decades and the government even gives out the formulas involved,
so how is it our government's own Phoenix payroll system can't get the numbers right?
Tell me how $140 million isn't enough for IBM to deliver something that works?
Yet I have a hard time giving it away! |
No comments:
Post a Comment