March 16, 2004
Taxes and Death
A resigned smile crossed Kay Council's face as she 8. steered her car into the garage of the new brick A split-level house just outside Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her husband, Alex, had every light blazing inside and out. If I could just teach him to turn some lights off, she thought as she climbed the stairway to the upper level.
Alex didn't seem to be inside. It was only 9 p.m., a warm June evening. Maybe he was at one of the unfinished homes in the housing development they were building nearby. She wandered into the kitchen. Sure, there's a note. On her desk lay a sheet of yellow legal paper with words in Alex's familiar hand.
"My dearest Kay,
"I have taken my life in order to provide capital for you. The IRS and its liens which have been taken against our property illegally by a runaway agency of our government have dried up all sources of credit for us. So I have made the only decision I can. It's purely a business decision. I hope you can understand that. I love you completely,
"Alex."
Her eyesight was blurring by the time she read the matter-of-fact postscript: "You will find my body on the north side of the house." For a few desperate, hopeful seconds Kay thought it might be one of Alex's practical jokes, and he would jump out from hiding and surprise her.
Alex didn't seem to be inside. It was only 9 p.m., a warm June evening. Maybe he was at one of the unfinished homes in the housing development they were building nearby. She wandered into the kitchen. Sure, there's a note. On her desk lay a sheet of yellow legal paper with words in Alex's familiar hand.
"My dearest Kay,
"I have taken my life in order to provide capital for you. The IRS and its liens which have been taken against our property illegally by a runaway agency of our government have dried up all sources of credit for us. So I have made the only decision I can. It's purely a business decision. I hope you can understand that. I love you completely,
"Alex."
Her eyesight was blurring by the time she read the matter-of-fact postscript: "You will find my body on the north side of the house." For a few desperate, hopeful seconds Kay thought it might be one of Alex's practical jokes, and he would jump out from hiding and surprise her.
use rss for Tax Tyranny
