My Letter to the SC Department of Revenue

Hello,

I am in the process of completing taxes for our babysitter and have appreciated the Federal guidance for Household Employers (IRS Pub 926) while navigating withholding for Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, and Federal income tax.

Although the staff at the SC Dept. of Revenue have been helpful, it has been frustrating to figure out the SC State expectations for household employers. I have not found any guidance on the DOR website and have been confused by several parts of the process (e.g., obtaining a employer number to put in box 15 of the w2, only to learn that I should cancel that account because I am not required to withhold). Please recall that some household employers are not savvy business owners but are trying to meet their legal and ethical obligations to their employees and to government agencies.

I would like to recommend that the SC DOR publish guidance for household employers to aid citizens. It would be especially helpful if the examples used in such a publication followed the same examples used in IRS Pub 926 to provide continuity when completing an employee’s w2 (i.e., the “Mary Jones” example in pub 926). Additional information that would be helpful to provide is listed below:

1. A list of forms employer’s are required to complete (w2 and wh1612?)

2. A timeline for submission of all forms

3. Guidance for different situations (i.e., electing to withhold vs. not withholding)

4. Clarification on boxes 15-20 of the employee’s w2, specifically:

a. Whether household employers who are electing not to withhold need a state ID number (box 15). I have heard two different things from DOR staff

b. Whether box 16 (state wages) should correspond to box 1 (direct wages + Social Security and Medicare withheld) or boxes 3 and 5 (direct wages). This is where continuity using the example from Pub 926 would be especially helpful.

c. What, if anything, to put in box 17

d. Whether you are required to complete boxes 18-20 (TurboTax says no)

5. Guidance on any documentation/reporting required when completing the employer’s own state tax return.

Thank you for your time.

Begonia nappers!

As I transition to my new house, I find myself feeling ambivalent and even afraid sometimes in my new neighborhood. It's in a low-income, mostly black area of Charleston and I'm hoping to provide added value to the community, which -- to be honest -- could use some added value. But at the same time, I'm concerned that my idea of added value is (a) naive/entitled/condescending and (b) unwanted.

My efforts thus far have been cosmetic and self-serving: picking up litter on the side of the street (my side of the street, that is), gardening out front, and calling the city/police/phone company to clean up graffiti, dangling phones wires and an abandoned bike near my property, all of which have been resolved. These issues were there long before I arrived and I wonder if the neighbors resent my interventions (e.g., "it was fine the way it was and she thinks she's better than this neighborhood"), or worse, think I have some special access to resources (e.g., "she's a privileged white girl and that's why the city listened to her"). Or (most likely) they haven't even noticed / don't attribute it to the new neighbor / don't care, which, of course, is the least self-centered scenario.

Except that someone did notice, at least enough to steal half of the little begonia plants that I planted in front of my house. Besides hurting my feelings and causing me to stick thorns in the remaining begonia plants as a defense (I know...a little weird), it affected my feelings toward the people on my street.

(As I'm writing this, I'm feeling mildly embarrassed at reporting the [relatively harmless] event above, given that a college student was held up nearby and shot a couple of days ago. And, in fact, I feel guilty too, because when I read the Post and Courier and all of the racist, idiotic comments people make on the website, I feel defensive and protective, and now I'm writing about a predominantly black neighborhood and feel like I'm adding fuel to the fire. But this is actually why I'm writing - I'm trying to live in Charleston and am feeling challenged right now, but I hope I'm still writing responsibly.)

(And, in fact, I find it interesting that I selected the college student incident as an example of a more upsetting event. Even though I read every day about murders, etc., happening in the area, most often to minority, low-income Charlestonians, the incident that is most salient to me is the terrible but flukey case of a presumably white college student at CofC getting shot.)

But back to my tribulations...

The begonia napping incident was interesting to me for several reasons:
1. Trying to understand the "motive," which for me means the internal and external cues, immediate cognitions and underlying belief system that would lead someone to pluck six begonia plants out of the ground.
2. Observing the automatic thoughts I experienced when it happened, the cognitive shift that has occurred since then and how it has already affected my behavior. Not for the better, sad to say.
3. Related to 1 and 2: trying to find a reason for the event that would elicit empathy (e.g., he needed to bring flowers to grandma) rather than the more likely, instrument cause ($ for reselling). Why is that even important?
4. Figuring out how to be a good neighbor but not a tool.

I will spare you (myself?) my amateur social psychology explanations for 1-3 but #4 is going to be an ongoing challenge, I can tell. I also want to do what's socially appropriate (do I go over to my neighbors' houses to introduce myself or should they welcome me by coming by? what if it's an apartment building with a few units? Should I go over to meet the guy who sits caddy cornered to my house (it's far enough away to be ambiguous as to what to do)? I feel loathe to do anything right now since the begonia incident (and actually a few other things like people yelling at me on my porch or approaching for money/alcohol). I just feel such a tight smile on my face now when I'm outside, like "Hi, I'm friendly, don't hurt me or my house." Basically, I just feel so white right now! Which feels lousy.

I could go on and on (and have already), but there is plenty that will keep.

Are they on crack? House hunting in Charleston

I am fairly certain that there's a special circle of hell reserved for real estate agents. Not MY real estate agent, who is a friend and who will probably just end up in limbo or do a short bid in purgatory. No, I'm talking about all of those sellers' agents we called to see houses before we got wise. Here are some of my favorite quotes from those showings:

"House prices are going up!" (in the midst of the bailout and Madoff scandal)

"Yes, the house has no heating system or central air but they've been using a plug-in gas heater for years!" (for sale for $350K)

"Are you from Charleston?" (sussing out how well we know the iffy neighborhood we're looking in). "Oh," (disapointed-looking), "you know it's 'up and coming,' then."

"Everyone who has looked at this house has put an offer on it, but it hasn't been enough for the owner" (a house that's now up for auction...)

That's just a sprinkling of the palmetto bug droppings we've had to listen to over the past several months, until I saw my otherwise gracious husband become increasingly abrupt (read: rude) during these house showings.

So, I'm led to wonder, what ARE you paying for when you buy a house in Charleston for under $400K?

1. Lousy public schools (is an "excellent" school in Charleston rated against the performance of schools nationally or SC schools? Because if it's the latter, talk about shifting a curve to the left!)

2. Brick ranch houses. Make them stop, please. I don't mind a brick ranch on a nice hilly road. I mind a flat house on a flat road in a flat county.

3. Street names like, "Robert E. Lee Blvd.," "Secessionville Rd.," and "Rebels Camp" (or something like that)

4. Slash and burn developments. And/or developments that are named and have an HOA and an ARB to monitor the owner's vinyl siding color selection. These developments are likely have an "e" at the end of them: "Olde Magnolia Farms." They are not likely to be old, have any magnolias, or be in the vicinity of a working farm (though I'm sure they're old plantation land, so I'll give them that!).

my favorite and least favorite restaurants in CHS

Anybody who is familiar with Charleston restaurant scene knows which are the top-10 restaurants so I'm going to skip those unless I really like them. Here are the restaurants I like and why (in no specific order):

Samos - I love everything about it, especially the lounge.

Rue de Jean - great pommes frites and mashed potatoes, nice atmosphere (lively)

Santi's - solid Mexican food, really nice staff, easy parking

Pane e Vino - cozy (food is nothing special but it's not expensive either)

Mistral (x3): good french onion soup and a GREAT brass band on Fridays (the musicians sitting on the piano look like the old guys from the muppets). BUT their other food really varies in quality depending on who's cooking that night (I won't name names, but let me put it this way - I call first to check). But the band makes it worth it.

McCrady's - yes, everyone likes McCrady's, but it's just so good I have to mention it.

Trattoria Lucca - people complain about the noise but when I was there (seated at one of the tables with cushions), I didn't notice it. The family dinner is tasty, though they do rush you (or at least they did when it was brand new).

Moe's Crosstown - skip the burger and go straight for the "Extraordinary BLT." I just wish the TVs were better for football-watching, but it's not a sports bar, so that's not their problem.

Daily Dose - burritos are amazing, people are very nice, quick to get to from MUSC for lunch


My least favorite restaurants (that other people seem to like):

Fleet Landing - great view but food is pretty poor. I only go for drinks when I have guests in town (nice view of Cooper river).

Poe's - I just don't get it. It's too busy, it's too noisy and yet people love it...

The circular restaurant on the top floor of the Holiday Inn (West Ashley) - I've been there for brunch several times because of the view. They are exceptionally rude (and clearly I'm a glutton for punishment).

Chai's - is it me, or does everyone look like a jackass in that place? I don't even remember the food, it might be good.

Tea at the Thoroughbred Club - what happened to mounds of watercress sandwiches at tea? Is providing three sandwiches and a lot of sweets a new trend (this poor showing happened at the Ritz in Boston as well)? I say ditch the scones, folks, and bring on the de-crusted triangles! Yes, the sandwiches may be dainty but I still want to stuff my face with them!

what I'm doing here...

Basically, I'm creating this blog to share profundities like, "Why is Laguardia the only airport in the country that doesn't use touch-free paper towel dispensers?" and other similar observations I make as I trip along in the world. I guess another goal is to share with possibly likeminded (or at least interested) others who are also learning to adjust to living in the bizarro world of Charleston, South Carolina. I know there are others out there like me (we usually confess after a few drinks), who came for work/spouse's work and are incredulous that they've landed here, and are trying to figure out how to succeed emotionally as a reluctant transplant.

So, the Charleston thing was the impetus for writing this blog. I've realized that I think and talk about my thoughts on this issue much too often for my friends and family to tolerate with good humor and so I need another outlet. I probably won't even talk about Charleston too much since I've created a fairly insulated lifestyle from the things that drive me nuts. So besides the occasional "wtf???" regarding ole chazz, this blog will probably focus on other things I am interested in like (1) politics/news/culture issues, (2) commentary a la the LGA question above, (3) chatty cathy stuff about family, work, marriage, etc., and (4) restaurant reviews of Charleston (I eat out a lot and one good thing about CHS is its restaurants).

Thanks for reading!