I was reading this article* at lunch and now I know who to blame for the state of religion and the world view in general!! Apparently, prior to 640 BCE, the Israelites not only worshipped the God of Abraham, but also his Consort - the Goddess - yes you heard me correctly, the Goddess, Asherah. Huh? Interestingly enough, she was known as the Goddess of the Sea, or She who Walks on Water. Hmmm...that sounds familiar....
The ancient Israelites were also magnanimous enough to allow vessels dedicated to Baal, the God of the early Canaanites to be worshipped in the Temple too. Well, what do you know - religious tolerance.
Then, some schmuck named Josiah became king of the Israelites in 640 BCE and his first act was to march into the Temple and smash the statue of Asherah into dust! Dust, mind you! Hmmm...mommy issues? Research suggests that it took some serious and long term work to get the common people to stop worshipping her. After that, it was Yahweh and Yahweh only and things pretty much disintegrated from there in terms of women's place in organized religion.
*Reference: Time Magazine, "Decoding God's Changing Moods" by Robert Wright.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Honestly people! Again!
I realize I am having a bad day (don't ask) but seriously people! In what parallel universe do you believe that Dora the Explorer slippers and ladies panties qualify as a business use of home office expense? Really?
I have just waded through a stack of faded, wrinkled cash receipts of which I probably used 3%. The rest were for things that were clearly personal and had nothing whatsoever to do with this particular business, or pretty much any other.
All I can say is, when you get my bill, don't complain about how much time it took me to do your statements. Most of it was spent wading through things like this.
________________Previous Blog_________________________________________________
Okay, I am an accountant and as long as I've been doing this, I am still frequently amazed by what people think they can get away with as legitimate business deductions. So, I've made a little list of things that you CANNOT claim:
* cigarettes purchased at the gas station when you fill up do not count as "fuel"
* if you have a home office you can claim reasonable expenses such as a portion of your utility
bills, phone, etc. Generally speaking new bedroom or patio furniture is not a reasonable
office expense.
* when submitting receipts for auto repairs on a vehicle you claim for business, don't include
receipts that are clearly made out to someone else, for another vehicle entirely.
* gifts of jewellery purchased for a spouse cannot be used as a meals and
entertainment deduction, even if you did go out for dinner first and your spouse was
entertained by the gift.
: )
I have just waded through a stack of faded, wrinkled cash receipts of which I probably used 3%. The rest were for things that were clearly personal and had nothing whatsoever to do with this particular business, or pretty much any other.
All I can say is, when you get my bill, don't complain about how much time it took me to do your statements. Most of it was spent wading through things like this.
________________Previous Blog_________________________________________________
Okay, I am an accountant and as long as I've been doing this, I am still frequently amazed by what people think they can get away with as legitimate business deductions. So, I've made a little list of things that you CANNOT claim:
* cigarettes purchased at the gas station when you fill up do not count as "fuel"
* if you have a home office you can claim reasonable expenses such as a portion of your utility
bills, phone, etc. Generally speaking new bedroom or patio furniture is not a reasonable
office expense.
* when submitting receipts for auto repairs on a vehicle you claim for business, don't include
receipts that are clearly made out to someone else, for another vehicle entirely.
* gifts of jewellery purchased for a spouse cannot be used as a meals and
entertainment deduction, even if you did go out for dinner first and your spouse was
entertained by the gift.
: )
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Cousins
I recently found my cousin Sylvia on facebook and we've been talking online ever since. This might not sound like a big deal, but there was a bit of...well it's a mystery actually...but my family lost contact with most of the relatives I remember as a kid. I haven't seen Sylvia since I was probably 7 or 8 but we were very close and had lots of adventures together in our great grandmother's town of Cayuga. I never realized what I was missing in my life by not having anyone I could talk to who remembers the same things I do from my childhood. It has been a blast catching up and reminiscing.
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