When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

In dictatorships the government collects all the information it needs and sends you a tax bill, with credit for bribes and payoffs. Democracy is messy. We have the worst tax system in the world except for all the others.

Who doesn’t like challenges? Well, OK, stand in this line over here if all you want is a participation trophy. Tax return preparation could be boring some years. I told my clients they didn’t need me but they might next year, when something neither of us had ever seen could arise and require actual expertise.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

I know I can’t change a bureaucracy that has been underfunded for 20 years. I know I can’t afford software that promises immediate gratification with real-time updates when rules change – even if such software existed. I know some of my clients live from refund to refund, but I can encourage them to work on their budget skills.

I don’t know why some tax preparers complain. Maybe they secretly wish they had become an actuary.