The Bustle is Back

The holidays bring a double workload in the accounting profession. Organizers are all in the mail this week and clients are setting appointments. Part-time staff are back training on the new software and learning new office policies. Clients are calling about last minute tax maneuvers.

The holiday bustle is only the start. Soon, office activity will run 16-18 hours a day with everyone working overtime.

The hyper-activity feels good. There is no feeling like it in the world. That moment of excitement when life explodes with action. I am giddy. I already have an appointment on the New Year's holiday. May as well work. Can't sleep anyway.

Paper Losses

I visited one of my print shop clients recently to finish some tax reports and pick up bookkeeping papers. As he refilled his copier for the third time with 800 sheets, holding a ream of paper, he said, "And each pack of paper is short." My eyes glossed until the weight of his words sunk in.

"What?"

"Yeah. Each ream is short. The average ream has 493 sheets instead of the 500 listed on the package."

I asked him how he knew this, knowing he would never sit down and count how many sheets are in a pack.

He pointed to his printer. "The machine prints the customer the right amount."

Argument settled and a lesson learned. Consumers of paper are suffering a paper loss and don't know it. And even though we are a paperless office, we still use enough paper to make the shortage count (pun intended.)

The 7 page average shortage is 1.4%. A small office may spend $10,000 a year on paper (accounting offices, at least.) This adds up to around $140 per year in losses. I don't know about you, but $140 means a lot to me. I feel violated. And now that you know, you do, too.

Welcome to my world.

Fun Facts

The day the average American has earned enough to pay his taxes for the entire year is called Tax Freedom Day. According to the Tax Foundation, 28.2% of income was paid in taxes in 2009. Below is a list showing Tax Freedom Day since 1930 and the percent of income paid in tax that year.

1930 February 12 (11.7%)
1940 March 7 (17.9%)
1950 March 31 (24.6%)
1960 April 11 (27.7%)
1970 April 19 (29.6%)
1980 April 21 (30.4%)
1990 April 21 (30.4%)
2000 May 3 (33.6%)
2001 April 30 (32.6%)
2002 April 19 29.8%)
2003 April 16 (29.0%)
2004 April 17 (29.3%)
2005 April 23 (31.1%)
2006 April 26 (31.7%)
2007 April 26 (31.8%)
2008 April 23 (30.4%)
2009 April 13 (28.2%)

From the chart above, it looks like the government discovered they kill the bloodied taxpayer once Tax Freedom Day moves to late April. It is interesting to note that the Bush tax cuts didn't push back Tax Freedom day much. It may be because the taxing burden was shifted to the states.

The early Tax Freedom Day in 2009 is a result of all the stimulus checks, financed with debt. We'll pay for that eventually, plus interest.