Mariel Garza: March 2009 Archives

>Or you might be at the losing end of a fine or random fee application.

It almost happened to me. Yesterday, I arrived home after a long day at my W-2 job to find a letter from the city's Office of Finance, or OOF, saying that I hadn't paid my business tax in years and that I owe an estimated $4,363.81. OOF, indeed.

My first thought was identity theft because I don't have a business and I have certainly had never made the estimated $200,000 that the city was suggesting. Long story short, I found out this was a fishing expedition by the city, and anyone who received a 1099 last year, whether it be for few hundred bucks (such in my case) or several thousand, will be similarly targeted. But even if you know you are exempt, as I did. Don't ignore this note --or else.

And this is the reformed business tax system!

And on another City Hall front: Last fall found that the city arbitrarily decided to start charging me an extra capacity fee for trash collection, as if $36 a month for three regular sized bins for my small SF home wasn't enough. I don't have extra bins; this was a clerical mistake. But six months later I'm still trying to get them to stop charging this fee and credit me for back months. Wish me luck!

I'm on the weirdest mailing lists. This is not a complaint. It means that every day I get to enjoy a wide range of news and views from all across America -- lefties, conservatives, libertarians, environmentalists, anarchists, business people, law enforcement and druggies and people who not write so goodly.

Here's today's winner in the category of "E-mails That Have Caused Unintended LOLing." This dispatch comes from Richard A. Viguerie at ConservativeHQ.com who's not thrilled with University of Notre Dame's choice of the United States Commander in Chief as this years commencement speaker. (Emphasis is mine)

Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, pointed out that, "Barack Obama is a pro-abortion extremist. He supports elective abortion at any point during pregnancy, and even afterward."

Afterwards? What, like if they grow up to be AIG executives?