The IRS’s online “electronic federal tax payment system” sucks. I know I shouldn’t be surprised. But for whatever reason, I always harbor a sliver of hope with these things, even when I should know better.
The hoops you have to jump through just to get a PIN are kind of a pain, but I can understand that because it’s sensitive personal tax information. Still, there’s no reason the user interface of the system should look like something a 16-year-old playing with Frontpage cooked up. The documentation they sent me in the mail is utterly unhelpful, as well. I sent a payment, but I don’t have a damn clue if I even did it correctly. And you know, I have a fucking Master’s degree, and if I can’t figure this shit out? Well… I just get the feeling they are trying to make things as difficult and complicated as possible, so they can screw people even further.
Also, I thought I was going to be signed up for automatic payments. But I don’t see anywhere to do that in their online system. I wrote them a letter last month asking about it, after they tried to charge me a “late fee” after they sent the payment notification two days before it was due… I have yet to hear anything.
Oh and one other thing… when I called to get my “initial web password” from the automated phone system, it said the letters and then a word it’s used in… you know, how people say “B as in boy.” Only the IRS robo-phone-voice said, “W as in whiskey; K as in kilo.” I shit you not!!
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8 Responses to "Securing my position on a government watch list"
They are using the NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc), but it’s a little military-ish. Perhaps the Western Union Phonetic Alphabet would be a better choice… http://www.osric.com/chris/phonetic.html.
Ah yes… Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!!
That is so funny! I hope you get your IRS woes straightened out soon, Amber.
Thanks for thinking of and linking me for the last Carnival of Feminists. I was puzzled as to why I was getting so many site hits through you until I scanned that post. Hopefully over the weekend, I’ll be able to go read all the articles and everything I’ve missed here lately.
So many blogs, so little time.
Z as in Zulu is much cooler than Z as in Zero.
Thats a great pick!
i meant pic—
can i blame that on it being saturday?
:)
Sure! Or, you can blame it on the comment spam that’s currently inundating my site. :P
*sigh*…
The reason the IRS e-file system is so lame is because the majority of our elected representatives don’t want it to compete with private enterprise providing the same service.
I know, it’s stupid - you’d think even the most dedicated free enterpriser would recognize that making it easy to file your taxes with the federal government is a legitimate federal function, but apparently your average elected Republican senator or congressperson disagrees.
sigh.