Happy Emancipation Day

I'm writing this Sunday night April 10 to be the scheduled post for April 15, which would be the last day of tax season but for the holiday . Emancipation Day is a very worthy holiday. As I note towards the end of a lengthy post in my bizzaro blog, compensated emancipation probably would have been less expensive in money alone than the Civil War. There are a variety of reasons why it was not politically possible including racism being pervasive in the whole country not just in the slaveholding states. Nonetheless, it is an engaging counterfactual.

Emancipation Day is April 16, the day in 1862 that the slaves in the District of Columbia were emancipated 9 1/2 months before the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation.  Owners who were loyal to the Union received monetary compensation.  Since Emancipation day falls on a Saturday it is celebrated on Friday, April 15th, the normal due date for tax returns. Falling on a holiday extends the due date to the next business day April 18th, which as it happens is a holiday in Massachusetts.  Patriots Day - "One if by land and two if by sea and I on the opposite shore shall be, ready to ride and sound the alarm to every Middlesex village and farm".  In the past Patriots Day has extended tax season for many people since there is an IRS Service Center in Andover.  I noticed, however, on one of the few paper filed returns I've handled that the instructions say to send it to Kansas City so I guess Monday the 18th is the end of the line.

I've got a pretty big backlog of material so I'm thinking I might go beyond the Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule, but we'll see.  I'm looking forward to the return of The Wandering Tax Pro.