Just forget the words and sing along

Friday, July 25, 2003

Long story short: I owe the government $292.74.

The long story: Back in March I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to figure out whether I had to pay taxes or not. What I ultimatley did was send off a special audit form to Revenue Canada to determine my residency status. I've been waiting for a reply ever since. Today, I get this bill from the government for $292.74 and it's marked "past due." I go "wha? I never got the first one! What's this about?" I reach into the box Mom has in the corner here labeled "Mark's mail I was going to forward to him but didn't because he'll be home soon," thinking that the first bill would be inside saying why I have to pay this. The first letter I find from Revenue Canada is dated May 9. I skim it. It's the results of my audit and it says I was not a Canadian resident, ergo I don't have to pay taxes on my Japanese earnings. Yay! I find a second letter dated May 30, also from Revenue Canada. It says, "It has come to our attention that from June 2002 to April 2003, you were not a resident of Canada. Therefore, we shouldn't have sent you all of those GST rebate cheques. We want our money back. You owe us...$292.74." The first bill.

So, yeah. Governments are evil. They just take our money and give it to big business. They'll be sorry when the revolution comes....

Next issue...The Revolution!...Canceled Due to Snow

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