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UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HANDS

August 16, 2004

It was probably inevitable, in this day of electronic filing, but this bit from last week's Notice 2004-54 makes us wistful:

   This notice authorizes income tax return 
   preparers to sign original returns, amended 
   returns, and requests for filing extensions 
   by means of a rubber stamp, mechanical 
   device, or computer software program. 
   These alternative methods of signing must 
   include either a facsimile of the individual 
   preparer's signature or the individual 
   preparer's printed name.

We should look at this as progress; our illegible scrawl at the bottom of a piece of paper doesn't add any magical charm to the process not provided by the laser-printed sans-serif fonts. We sure wouldn't want to go back to the days when tax returns were reproduced on carbon paper by grumpy chain-smoking secretaries. Still, it marks the end of an era somehow.

Of course, we remain partial to signet rings and sealing wax.

UPDATE!

From a real secretary:

   First of all, I would like to take exception to 
   your characterization of secretaries as 
   "grumpy chain-smoking secretaries."  My 
   recollection of secretaries (my mother was 
   one) was that they bent over backwards to 
   be right hands to their 'men' bosses, to be 
   smart but not smart aleck, efficient but not 
   uppity, helpful, polite and proper.  And 
   certainly never publicly grumpy.  OK, maybe 
   a few chain smokers.  But not the majority.

We defer to our correspondent's judgement with respect to secretaries in general - she is certainly right. But she never met the ones at the place where we started our career after they were asked to retype a consolidated 1120...

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