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From the July 1989 issue of Radio And Production
Raoul The Taxman
Raoul Makes Debut
If you're making a decent living in radio, you're probably paying a
decent amount of taxes. If you pay someone 50 bucks to fill out your short
form, you're probably still paying a decent amount of taxes, taxes you
probably don't owe. We aren't big enough yet to have an IRS agent write for
us (and we aren't sure we'd want one), but we were able to locate the
infamous, the one and only, the original Raoul the Taxman. He knows radio,
he's been on the radio, and he knows his tax stuff; and for a bottle of
tequila a month, he agreed to pass on a few tax tips for us radio types.
We're excited to present Raoul's debut column in this month's issue and urge
you to read between all the lines.
And now, please welcome, a man who needs no shot glass:
Raoul the Taxman!
Ole', you poor taxpaying stiffs, and greetings from Raoul The Taxman. My
amigo, Geraldo, is so thrilled that I've kept him out of the slammer for so
many years, he has actually begged me to share my vast wealth of tax tips
with the subscribers and friends of RAP. I tried to explain to him that this
will be no easy task. As a matter of fact, it may be just as difficult as
robbing a train with an old horse (which, as he knows, is the reason I'm in
the tax business in the first place).
Listen to me, man. Taxes are confusing, complicated, negative, and
boring; but forget it, because we are going to make it fun. Fat chance. So
don't kill the messenger. There are things we all deal with in life that are
a lot worse than taxes. For instance, having a nail in your head. Watch for
this column next month and maybe I'll think of another one.
What RAP and Raoul will be sharing with you through the coming months are
tax tips that we hope will be of interest specifically to people in the
field of broadcast production. We'll be talking about various everyday tax
laws that can be applied to the unique aspects of your business, and maybe
save you some big pesos.
In this issue, I'd like to talk with you about depreciation. This is the
process of taking tax deductions against your income for the purchase of
audio equipment. Although we all have stereos, cassette players, etc. for
recreational purposes, they are also tools of your trade. Square Sol and his
stiff doll can't write this stuff off, but you guys can! With new technology
and new products coming out every day, I'm sure many of you are upgrading
your equipment. Turntables, synthesizers, tape decks, amps, CD players,
upgraded car stereos, speakers, everything, man. You can write it off! You
people are in the sound business!
Now listen up, gringos and gringas, keep records of receipts. You can't
write off this stuff if you steal it, or even if it just accidentally falls
off the back of a truck into the trunk of your ride, man.
If you've never written off your equipment, but have acquired a
considerable amount of hardware over the years, you're not up the Rio
Grande. Go back and reconstruct your purchases. Take an inventory of your
equipment and locate your receipts. You can set the original cost up as an
asset and depreciate it. This applies not only to you guys scamming some
outside freelance income, but also to you stiffs on salary in a production
studio.
As I said, depreciation can be a complicated concept. We will explore it in
more detail next month; but taking an inventory of what you've got is a good
place to start. Basically, and dependent on various situations, you can
write this stuff off immediately or over 5 years. We'll get into that, but
in the meantime, your assignment for this month is to read IRS form 4562 and
its instructions. It's really a pisser. They are available at any IRS
office; but when you go down there, remember to wear a disguise -- a wig or
fake mustache will do just fine. Also, a little limp would be a tasty touch.
And please, don't mention my name! ◙
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