Good news for tax payers! You have two extra days to procrastinate this year.
Uncle Sam doesn’t want to know how much you owe him (or how much he may have to return to you) until April 17.
With April 15 falling on a Sunday, followed by the observance of Emancipation Day in Washington D.C. on April 16, our 1040s, 2210s, 2106s, 4868s and other tax forms do not have to be postmarked until midnight April 17.
Of course, if you employ the Cano gambit you may get away with not filing your paperwork for at least another five years—or longer if you don’t get caught!
The little known Cano gambit is not an authentic accounting mechanism or even a political protest a la’ not paying your taxes because they are unconstitutional.
The Cano is the act of ignoring official requests and named after National City Councilman
Jerry Cano who five years ago made renovations to his property without the appropriate permits.
When the violations were brought to his attention he made a half-hearted attempt to address them but when those were found to be inadequate he ignored the city’s follow up requests to get squared away.
Incidentally it seems the city of National City is accustomed to being ignored by political power brokers. Remember the city’s repeated attempts to collect money owed them for Vermont senator Bernie Sander’s presidential campaign rally a couple of years ago? It took repeated letters of pleading and threat of a lawsuit to get paid the roughly $32,000 in fees and interest the campaign owed National City.
Cano doesn’t owe the city anywhere near that much money.
In fact, as of this writing, he does not owe the city any money for his actions even though other National City residents who had similar issues were fined. And paid.
But in Cano’s case the city instead went from sending letters telling him he needed to get his paperwork in order, to filing a legal document that would not cost him time or money until he decided he wanted to sell his home. The Cano gambit seems to have paid off: the two-term National City councilman has for years been able to enjoy his patio without major consequence while, presumably, saving money for the day when he would have to pay (if ever it arrived) for the necessary permits.
After news of Cano’s home improvement escapade became public his council colleague Mona Rios asked the council to discuss investigating if he received preferential treatment.
The council is expected to talk about the issue at the April 17 meeting.
In the meantime tax day, the same day the council is supposed to figure out how to proceed on the Cano matter, is Tuesday.
Any overconfident and daring taxpayer is encouraged to try the Cano gambit. Let the rest of us schlubs who have to follow the rules know how it works for them.
Question did Frank Parra (Fake FireChief) tell City Inspector Mr. Sainz to back off of Jerry Cano. According to Sainz he was quoted in the UT saying that Parra did tell him to back off of Jerry Cano. Frank Parra be prepared to answer at next Council meeting.
Just saying
Mark Baca
7c
Citizens have every right to expect their elected officials to be transparent and hold themselves above reproach when it comes to their ethical conduct.
As a Contractor and former two term Planning Commissioner for the City of Chula Vista, I would suggest that Mr. Cano needs to do right by the citizens of National City, correct the violations on his property, pay any fines or penalties, and resign from office.