I'm sensing an undertow of crisism against the separaion of the chuch and the state in this strip... It seems a bit misguided, I think the root of the problem lays in hypocricy...
dexter_greycells, "selling past the close" means the deal is done but the salesman is still trying to sell you on the idea. Dogbert is basically telling Wally he doesn't need to go the extra step to make the sale because it's already been completed.
What exactly is meant by 'selling past the close'? Does it mean that Catbert has already settled the issue of taxes and is going one step further (probably asking for funds from the tax men themselves)?