Taxable Hell

Our tax professor is something of a legend. In some ways I feel lucky that I get to take a class with him. His reputation is very gruff, but he really wants you to learn the material, whether you want to or not. Besides the gruffness, the other reason students tend to have a problem with him is that the tax world is black and white, yes or no. After several years of law classes we've been taught to see the world in shades of gray and to hedge every question with the phrase 'maybe.' Personally I find it refreshing to have yes or no answers to questions.

That aside it is still Income Tax and that is the other big problem with the class. This isn't law! I know the Internal Revenue Code is nothing but statutes and is technically law, but this isn't law! Tax is more economics, public policy, and voodoo. The math isn't the problem. I know many law students are math rejects and despise equations, but I used to be a Physics major. The math isn't the problem for me as I can plug and chug through a formula with the best of them. I don't understand the damn formula! I have a better chance figuring out hyperspatial fold equations than taxable income.

In class I understand some concepts, but not others. I forget about exceptions to the rules or the fact this little rule is there in the first place. I thought I was lost to the extent I didn't know exactly where I was, but I was in the general neighborhood. Then we got a problem to work on for some credit. That's when I realized I wasn't even in the right city.

I've been pouring over the professor's handouts and the IRC. It isn't too late to get a handle on things and do okay on the exam. It is going to take a lot of effort though. I'm afraid I don't have enough energy for that effort. I've been burned out for a year now. I simply wish to be done with school, take the bar, find a job and earn some money again. On Saturday I was part of a study group for the first time ever in my law school career. Perhaps if I had been part of a study group in my first year maybe I would have done better. I don't know. The problem is that our group, all two of us, were really the blind leading the blank and it was a coin-toss as to who was who. Though we managed to get through property taxes after an hour. They typos in the example didn't help. Perhaps there is hope for us yet.

I've never had any designs on being a tax lawyer. If I ever has questions on the potential tax consequences of something I'll go to a tax lawyer. The only reason I'm taking the class is because Lawren told us to. Tax is potentially on the bar and having this class now makes the bar review class easier. So I'm trusting her on that. I know I'm not an idiot, but it is just a frustrating subject. At least this year when I used TurboTax to do file my income taxes I understood some of the reasoning behind the questions.