Julie Jason: Taxing thoughts and helpful videos.

Even though tax day was delayed this year to May 17 from April 15, I’m guessing you may be thinking about your tax return, or about proposed changes to the tax laws. So, I thought I’d share a few thoughts from influencers to put a few things into perspective. You may recognize some of these luminaries:

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” — Albert Einstein, physicist

“Like mothers, taxes are often misunderstood, but seldom forgotten.” — Lord Bramwell, 19th-century English jurist

“I am proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is —- I could be just as proud for half the money.” — Arthur Godfrey, entertainer

“The power of taxing people and their property is essential to the very existence of government.” — James Madison, U.S. President

“To tax and to please, no more than to love and to be wise, is not given to men.” — Edmund Burke, 18th-century Irish political philosopher and British statesman

“People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women.” — Unknown

“Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice

“No government can exist without taxation. This money must necessarily be levied on the people; and the grand art consists of levying so as not to oppress.” — Frederick the Great, 18th-century Prussian king

“The best measure of a man’s honesty isn’t his income tax return. It’s the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.” — Arthur C. Clarke, author

A tax loophole is “something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform.” — Russell B. Long, U.S. senator

“Few of us ever test our powers of deduction, except when filling out an income tax form.” — Laurence J. Peter, author

“Taxation with representation ain’t so hot either.” — Gerald Barzan, humorist

“Where there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.” — Plato

“Income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf.” — Will

Rogers, humorist

These quotes are posted on the IRS website at tinyurl.com/b5vcbv3f. If you have never visited the site, let me encourage you to do so.

You’ll also want to check out the IRSvideos YouTube page at tinyurl.com/b5pfj3d6, where you will find helpful informational videos on just about any tax topic you may want to learn about, including videos in Spanish.

Here are a few that I recommend:

If you have not received your Economic Impact Payment, watch the video that helps you sign up for an IRS account online called “IRS Economic Impact Payments on Your Tax Account” at tinyurl.com/9xjdarr4.

For a basic grounding in tax filings, see “Help for Taxpayers” at tinyurl.com/t59tcprv.

If you need help on withholding, see “How to Use the

IRS Withholding Estimator for Paycheck Checkup” at tinyurl.com/2cctus3d.

If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, watch “Get an Identity Protection PIN” (to keep someone else from using your Social Security number to file a tax return) at tinyurl.com/3szb5tck.

If you are due a tax refund, see “When Will I Get My Refund?” (tinyurl.com/9jhxyjec) and “Refund: Claim It or Lose It” (tinyurl.com/cx6cdyx4).

And, finally, if you are interested in working for the IRS, watch “Revenue Agent” at tinyurl.com/3uxd6eez, as well as “What Does A Special Agent Do?” at tinyurl.com/yjjv65ur and “Your Abilities Work at the IRS” at tinyurl.com/ 2svzcxy2.

On another note, if you are interested in the basics of retirement planning, join me for a virtual presentation,

“Plan for Retirement Account Withdrawals.” It will be held on Wednesday, April 21, at 1 p.m. EDT, and is sponsored by the Greenwich (Connecticut) Library.

To register, go to tinyurl.com/y833adhm or contact Yang Wang, 203-6227924, ywang@greenwichlibrary.org.

Julie Jason, JD, LLM, a personal money manager (Jackson, Grant of Stamford) and author, welcomes your questions/comments (readers@juliejason.com). Her awards include the 2020 Clarion Award, symbolizing excellence in clear, concise communications. Her latest book, a curated collection of Julie’s columns, is “Retire Securely: Insights on Money Management From an Award-Winning Financial Columnist.”

To hear Julie speak, visit juliejason.com/events.