I, like many good Americans waited until the last minute to file my taxes this year. If the majority of the population was self-employed and had to write a lump sum check for ALL of there social security and federal whitholding every quarter, there would be another revolution.
I know you brits are probably going “How do you like taxation WITH representation?” and we still pay less by percentage than many countries, but if God can get by with 10%, what’s the government’s deal?
Needless to say my acquisitions will be stunted for a while.
Indeed! Uncle Sam don’t play the whistle, thats for sure. Add him to the list Dale.
Actually, I also waited until the last minute (last five hours, anyway). Pure procrastination, since I’m getting some back from both the State and the Feds. Not much invitation to WhOA, though. Both together don’t add up to a Copeland.
Imagine what would happen if the government got involved with the whistle industry?
Kind of like government cheese, government issued whistles. Things would only get worse from there - they’d probably wind up being “Recorders” called whistles by bureaucrats.
Actually, there was a government issued whistle. It was an occarina and I think it was during WWII.
I pretty much waited til the last minute as well. I tell you though I really don’t mind so much the concept of paying taxes, but I sure do with the powers that be could do something useful with my money.
They do! Student financial aid. Thanks taxpayers!
On 2002-04-15 19:48, Bagfed wrote:
If the majority of the population was self-employed and had to write a lump sum check for ALL of there social security and federal whitholding every quarter, there would be another revolution.
18 months ago, I was working in a technology company that had bought some patents I had earned. When I wrote that first big lump-sum quarterly tax check, I said the exact same thing.
On 2002-04-15 21:45, Chuck_Clark wrote:
Actually, I also waited until the last minute (last five hours, anyway). Pure procrastination, since I’m getting some back from both the State and the Feds. Not much invitation to WhOA, though. Both together don’t add up to a Copeland.
You are a good financial planner then. The perfect outcome is to get a couple bucks back.
People who get a big refund and think they got away with something need to reallize that tax money is their money and the reason they are getting it back is because they paid too much in the first place.At some point in the year they atarted loaning the government money interest free.
[edited in later: I see you are self-employed but leaving this post up for others]
A note of sympathy to Bagfed or other victims of tax-suckers.
Don;t know if it helps, but I have used my self=employment as a musician to offset whatever money I made in my “real” job for years. It’s not a scam because I never really made much money. I did the math. You can play weddings and concerts every weekend and it adds up to about minimum wage when pro-rated to 40 hrs. You deduct every record, piece o’ sheet music, guitar strings, concert, book about music, part of your phone bill, Internet connection, mics etc etc (I guess you know all this but just in case). Depreciate all those fancy-pants whistles over five years. Show a loss mostly but occasionally a profit. You do have to actually get paid when you play and that seems to be a problem in Sessions unless draft is drachmas.
The return has been a life of making music in places I would never be invited to, eating food I could never afford, being complimented by people who wouldn’t otherwise give me the time of day and the only penalty was wearing some slightly uncomfortable penquin suits.Nobody ever sued me because I don;t have anything worth taking. I may die poor but they’ll bury me with slightly more fabric than I arrived with. You don’t get to take anything else. Your kids might be steamed if they don;t get anything but the case is often made against inherited wealth.
So if you are just earning a wage Bagfed, become a PROFESSSIONAL MUSICIAN and write off more! Hope this either heartens, educates or amuses you. Don’t be depressed or annoyed any more! It’s “Caeser’s” money anyway. Go play your whistle now. It sounds great under the freeway overpass where I live (now that part I did make up).
[ This Message was edited by: The Weekenders on 2002-04-16 01:01 ]
I’m still up at half past midnight because the daylight savings time messed my internal clock all up. Anyway, I was going to say that must be a pretty fancy underpass to have a computer hookup.
I know we have to render unto ceasar but the idea of ME getting paid to play is about as unlikely as a flat tax getting passed.
I could see it now: Mr Rattray you have here a deduction for $2300 (IRS doesn’t use cents)(how appropriate) $2300 for “whistle related expenses” we’d like you to provide proof for this deduction could you play something" then the penalties would start. It would be ugly.
However I may sound in print I am a person who tries to find the funny in everything. It’s a lot healthier than looking for the negative.
Besides, It was pushing 90 degrees here around Chicago, so summer is here. we completely bypassed spring this year. It’s like a 25% tax on seasons or something.
90 in April??? Crikey. We had an 83 on Saturday (great for lil League game) but it cooled down here in Bay Area by Sunday.
I do my taxes as early in February as possible. The tax lady is in a good mood still and I just get it over with.
I have and wll continue to avoid all politics in my posts but I get hot under the collar about our tax dollars as well…
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I find that multiple taxation via bonds, parcel and sales (and subsequent misuse) by school boards and other agencies and our various state sales taxes here in CA are more obnoxious than the Fed. If you ever bought gasoline here in CA you’d know what I mean. Sales tax, plus gas sales tax combined e.g.
Count me as a flag-wavin libertarian Federalist papers type and you get the idea where I stand on taxation. AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE! WE AINT EUROPE.
That’s the last political thing you’ll hear from me. Politics takes away from valuable whistling time.
Weekenders, the whole professional musician plan sounds great, but alas, no one will pay me for my playing as of now 
And even if I could, I’m in the middle-class bracket since I worked hard and got an education, so it wouldn’t amount to anything even if I did play well.
As for the politics, I’m more of a flat tax rate person–this would eliminate half or more of the IRS, the loopholes, the hassle etc. I agree on the local stuff–where I live there’s a city trying to annex my community for a tax $ grab, and I moved there because I didn’t want to be in that city. That’s enough out of me on politics!
Weekenders, I always enjoy reading your posts. Bagfed et al.–interesting thread–OT but civilized.
Thanks cj for nice note. I hope I can be entertaining. Frankly, our families are not going to be all that interested in our Whoa obsessions etc so we need to be there for each other! I already sent em streamin to the doors with genealogy and politics so I am really trying to be good now.
As much as I love playing Irish music I am realizing that people are more willing to pay my classical gt/flute duo though I haven’t really tried to get work in the former (still a little shy about my ORNAMENTS!!). Sigh, its just that I have done the latter for years and years. We are really good at what we do but trad is more FUN! I haven;t even told my fluteplayer that I went off the deep end with the Burkes etc etc… I actually brought a whistle to a job but never had the guts to play it. (It was one of the American-Irish weddings I played)
For the last three years, I played a lot of historical folk music of California in costume at school assemblies and festivals etc. School assemblies are something that non full=timers can actually make a few bucks and be pro at.
And playing for kids is a blast believe me. You might be surprised how much fun it is to see 80 4th graders singing sea chanteys at the tops of their lungs!
Seriously though, you don;t have to make a lot of money to go pro tax-wise. Its a matter of showing your activity, paying for advertising etc. You depreciate the whistles too. So even if you only made $500 last year, you are only claiming one-fifth of the whistle purchase price for example so you might still show a profit but still get to write it off. It is costly because tax preps charge more by the extra forms. Well, maybe it is too much trouble but it will be hard for me to go backwards and make it a hobby after claiming for the last 17 years. I never made much frankly but like all my friends, I have always had another job (I don;t teach music, unlike others). I always thought teaching was yet more perilous self-employment (you never know when the bottoms gonna fall out, uneven pay etc ) so I always had a regular job, but part-time.
I have friends from music school who have multiple cds out and go on tour but come back to town and back to their bookstore jobs etc etc. Grim in a way but we all make choices…
Best wishes.
[ This Message was edited by: The Weekenders on 2002-04-16 13:05 ]
I also play flute (Boehm) and have played weddings before, actually got paid a time or two. If I could talk one of my guitar-playing friends into making a duo like yours, I might be able to do something there. I’m not good enough at whistle (or mandolin or piano or guitar, which I also dabble at) for anyone to want to pay $ for it. Also, I have a son and don’t have the time to practice or do gigs, even I was technically up to it.
They probably would have loved the whistle at the Irish-American wedding!
Maybe when my son’s grown, I’ll pursue this more. In the meantime, I have a decent-paying technical day job, so the music is a good balance for me. Also, as it stands now, I can just enjoy my music and the pressure’s off. I know what you mean about the talented folks that work at day jobs. I took voice lessons from a local teacher who teaches at a magnet school for performing arts students. He acts and sings in local theater and directs his church choir. He went to NY but there were so many fantastic people there, so he never got his “big break.”
Anyhow, enough rambling from me!
CJ re post:
Yes you could do the duo thing without killing yourself with rep etc.. We were always way over-qualified for wedding work. People just want it to be nice and instead of playing Kesh, you have to play Pachelbel Canon. Over and over and over… But humility is a virtue, including musical humility. I always thought that the Canon was just a great tune, thats why it outlasted his other works, so I didn;t mind playin it. The younger players sometimes get snooty about such things.
Hardest part is sound equipt cause you occasionally need it. Send me private messages through Forum if you want more info.
Re Irish wedding: The brides name was Molly so we played Molly Bán. Worked perfect though I think the real words might not be wedding-y. For anybody out there, it makes a great processional for a small wedding.
On 2002-04-16 12:09, The Weekenders wrote:
Count me as a flag-wavin libertarian Federalist papers type and you get the idea where I stand on taxation. AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE! WE AINT EUROPE.
That’s right, man. Try to get a decent meal in this country… :roll:
Okay, okay maybe where you live. But see, we got this California cweezeeen here in Berkeley etc.
The place is goin down the tubes in many ways but we eat well here. My favorite playin jobs were at restaurants where a seven-course was part of the pay.
Yes, its true. Ask TonyHiggins, he’s a local, if ya don’t believe me.
Hadn;t had canned green beans in 30 yrs until I left the state and ate at “Mom’s” in Salina Utah. But that’s another story, smartguy!
Hey, it’s all good fun, weekender. I remember playing weddings a lot. Always loved it. We would play in church and then get invited to the reception where we’d hang back, pig out, and slam back the beers. No one would ever talk to us except (a) the bride, or (b) the misfit uncle with the gaudy tie. And of course the father of the bride who would saunter over on the way from church to the reception, pull out a wad of cash and pay our head guy. Boy, weddings are great.
Hope to meet you someday and swap wedding stories cause C&Fers might get tired of it quick. Its a favorite pastime of ol’ musicians I swear.
But I just HAVE to mention this one: Picture it at dusk at a winery near Sonoma in the summertime. We got some of the good local liquid during the 3hr job. It was flute-players b-day and we were in a celebratory mood. Left the cellar and on the way to the car, there it was: an open barbeque with two delicious salmon fillets just sittin’ there unattended.
I tried, Lord, how I tried but between my gluttony and the fact that flute player is from Seattle (known salmon lovers there) we absconded with same and got our tip.
Statute of limitations has passed, so nobody get any ideas.
Always in good fun!
I remember that California cweezeen in Berkeley. I spent a few days there many years ago when I moved to Vancouver (we drove through the U.S. in December, when it was really cold in most of Canada). I remember a wonderful barn-like cafe near the university where I first tasted California fresh-squeezed OJ. MMMMMMMM. A simple taste of heaven.