Paula Light is the lovely hostess for The Monday Peeve, where I get to do the thing I cannot do in real life – air my inner most complaints.

In the U.S., there’s a thing called tax deadline. It’s the day when all taxes must be filed or you can file for an extension. This year’s deadline is April 18.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always done my own taxes and it’s been easy because I keep meticulous records of my spendings and income. In the recent years, ever since the family have arrived, I’ve been needing to do their taxes, too. Do you know what a headache it is to file taxes for 7 other individuals beside myself? And how many times I have to say, “just because I have an accounting degree doesn’t mean I know any loopholes in tax laws.”

By the way, I really don’t know any loopholes to make anyone’s tax payment into a tax refund.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the family’s work at the cookie factory slowed down. So they went looking for work elsewhere – particularly in the gig-working sector. After my cousin (the one in China) introduced Instacart to the rest of the family, everyone else started delivering for Instacart.

Though the job description is easy – pick up customer’s order at the store and then deliver the order to the customer’s door – when it comes to tax time, it’s not at all simple. I used to be self-employed, I should know. Work expenses must be kept meticulously as well as the miles driven for personal, commute, and gig work.

Over the weekend, mom’s brother decided that it was time to file their taxes and between me and my mom, he called me. Yippee! Not!😔

When he saw the number he had to pay back in taxes, he did a double-take. “That’s so much!” He ordered I adjust his work expenses even though I didn’t feel right doing it because he’s asking me to add on non-existent expenses and overstate his existing expenses to get a larger deduction.

I shook my head, “That’s all I can do.”

I hate it when they force me to do things that’s against my moral judgment. It just didn’t feel right. Later, when mom took over and filed their tax returns, I saw the number and I did a double-take. She did what they wanted. Unbelievable!

I hope now that we’ve ex-communicated with my mom’s sister and brother-in-law, I won’t have to do their taxes for them. 🤞 In the meantime, mom’s brother and sister-in-law want me to do my cousin’s taxes – the one who’s waiting to be sentenced to prison in China. Ugh!

So that’s my peeve for today – I hate filing taxes for others and hate when others tell me to do unethical things.