Yes, I used to be the taxman. But that ended almost 20 years ago, so I hope you will forgive me.
I was a revenue officer with the N.C. Dept. of Revenue for almost 30 years. It was not an easy job, no one likes paying taxes, myself included. But if you’re going to have state supported public services, like highways and schools, the money has to come from somewhere.
Along the way, I tried, as best I could, to make paying those taxes less difficult as possible for the taxpayers I came in contact with. I worked with taxpayers as best I could, trying to understand their situation. But I had a job to do, and, honestly, I did it well, because highways needed to be paved and teachers needed to be paid.
Probably, the best way to describe my attitude to my job as a revenue officer was in a line I would tell taxpayers from time to time. I would say, “I can be a good ol’ boy, or the mean taxman, it’s up to you.” In other words, I want to work things out, but if we can’t, there are other options. One time it didn’t work out.
I was working in another town before I came back to Sampson County. It had reached a point in a case that I was working that the options for collection of the taxes owed had dwindled. The person wasn’t making any payments and the only option left was taking out a warrant and going to court. I didn’t like going to court because I really didn’t want taxpayers to have to deal with extra cost and consequences of court cases. I had much rather work something else out otherwise. It was simpler and easier for everyone involved. But, in this case, things didn’t get worked out and we headed to court.
So, the arrest papers were served and a court date was set. The taxpayer had been avoiding correspondence with me. (Hint: Don’t avoid your creditors. If you do, they will otherwise probably think the worst.) So, when he didn’t show up for court that day, I was not surprised.
But, it turns out that something far worse happened than a court case. The day before, the taxpayer had a heart attack and died. I found out later he had not been feeling well, but had failed to notify me. Of course, if I had previously known the situation and that he wasn’t doing well, I would have backed off collection procedures. But I didn’t know.
Obviously, because of what had happened, the billing was closed, except for the outstanding court case. I would have to go to district court to get the case dismissed. A couple of weeks later, I went before the judge and explained what had happened. I explained that the taxpayer had died the day before his case was due in court.
“So, you’re telling me that this gentleman met the two inevitables of life, death and taxes, at the same time,” the judge responded with a grin.
“I suppose so, your Honor,” I replied, just wanting to get the case dismissed, as the district attorney chuckled and took care of the paperwork.
The two inevitables of life. Inevitable is defined as “certain to happen or unavoidable,” so I guess it is true. Some people may avoid paying income tax, maybe by deception or using their favorite tax loophole. But everyone pays some sort of taxes, even if it’s just sales tax or property tax. So taxes are inevitable.
But even more sure is the other inevitable. Sorry, folks, but death is still batting 1,000 percent. You may cheat it, and put it off for a while, but death will one day win. Or will it? While death is inevitable, and one day we will all die, does that mean that death ultimately wins?
Not necessarily. For a Christian, death is just a passage to another life, eternal life, made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. As we head into tax season and Easter season, consider the two inevitables of life. So, remember to pay your taxes and, if
you have accepted it, be thankful the penalty of death has been paid for you.