Welcome Twitterers!

If you're reading this, you either clicked over from @taxtweet, my Twitter alter ego, or you stumbled across this page purely by happy accident.

Either way, welcome y'all!

I'm Kay Bell, a native Texan and tax geek. That, in a nutshell, explains Don't Mess With Taxes, the tax blog I've written since November 2005 and its name's playful homage to the Lone Star State attitude.

In addition to tax tips and commentary at Don't Mess With Taxes, I offer more tax talk at Eye on the IRS at Bankrate.com. That personal finance site also is my tax season home away from home, as I helm the site's annual tax guide.

For most folks, that quite enough of taxes, thank you. But not me! When the 2008 filing season ended, I found I still needed a tax fix so a wrote book. "The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes" from FT Press hit book store shelves in February 2009. But if, like me, you prefer online shopping, you can order your copy online from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

And in between my paying tax jobs, I deal with taxes for free. Since 2006 I've been a member of the Internal Revenue Service's Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, a group of 100 volunteers who are dedicated to helping improve IRS systems and services. That's right, 99 other tax fanatics and I give what free time we have to deal with even more tax issues!

OK, I admit that it seems like taxes are my total life. But I do have other interests. Really!

I'm a sports fan. My first sports love is the Cowboys (we'll be back!), with the Astros running a close second. I'm also a motorsports fan and find write a monthly racing column for a couple of trucking magazines.

From a participatory standpoint, the hubby (he is real, but prefers to remain anonymous) and I are birders. It's a hobby that we've enjoyed for many more years than I'm willing to admit! The great thing about bird watching is that you can take great trips to see fabulous birds or simply enjoy the feathered friends who show up in your own backyard, like the golden-cheeked warbler that also makes the Austin area its exclusive home.

And, living in Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World, we take advantage of being able to see all the great bands that live or visit the city. Our favorites remain the Texas roots rockers that shaped our college years -- Joe Ely and the other Flatlanders in particular -- but we like all types of tunes. You can check out the shows we've seen on this page.

If you've read this far, then you're still interested or are killing way too much time Web surfing at work! But just in case you want to know more about my professional endeavors, you can click over to my "about" page.

And, of course, I hope you'll spend some time checking out the rest of Don't Mess With Taxes.

Thanks again for visiting. Please feel free to drop by and join in the conversations at my blogs or Twitter any time!

Comments

[Maxim Tax]

Enjoy reading your tweets - very cool...

[Jesse W.]

Great information and I will keep up with you through Twitter, please follow me as well if you'd like! @badcreditdefs

[J. Money]

Hey! I didn't realize this was your blog while tweeting - very cool. I remember coming across this site a cple years ago and thinking it was a cool name :) and now here we are later chatting, life is cool sometimes. See ya back on Twitter!

PS: Did I mention I was a Redskins fan?

[empresaoffshore.blogspot.com]

Thanks, I will contact you throug Twitter, then.