A Taxing Morning

Income tax. I'm doing my income tax, Ms J. I suspected I might owe the leeches in Ottawa, and it appears I do. The income tax forms have lately become so complicated, the average person hasn't a clue how to fill them out. Many people have turned to tax accountants. I've had Joe Salib do my taxes for a few years now. Joe's a good guy and he's always gotten me a refund, although the refunds have been shrinking every year. When I was with Donna, I used to get $3500. back every year. Give or take a few bucks.

This year is different. Vastly different. I received taxable earnings last year in the form of sick benefits and Unemployment Insurance. They don't deduct much tax at the source. Also, I only paid Kelly half of the (tax deductable) child support I've been paying because I no longer pay for Daniel.

I decided this year to buy one of those software programmes that do your taxes for you. "QuickTax" it's called. Quick my arse! I spent all morning inputting my information, making changes and corrections. I had hoped to be able to file my taxes electronically (e-file) but you can't e-file unless you're expecting a refund. (I think.) If you owe them money, you have to send all the paper work. The printer's been thrashing and clunking here beside me for ten minutes now.

So what's the verdict?

I owe the bastards $523.74. I've spent $40. on the software. And I've used about 30 lbs. of paper. OK, I'm exaggerating. But I have used a LOT of paper. How different from past years, Ms J! I used to pay the accountant about $60. and a few weeks later, I'd have my fat refund deposited directly into my bank account. But not this time.

I broke my leg last year and I'm still digging myself out of debt. I owe the railway pension fund $2500. I'm in arrears because I was off work for seven months. I'm still paying for my new furnace. And Scout wants to go to camp again this summer. I mailed a cheque for nearly $800. to Teen Ranch yesterday.

But enough doom and gloom. Guess what happened last night, Ms J? No, I didn't assist in the birth of any babies. After work, I went to my play writing group which meets every Tuesday and Wednesday. It was fun! We improv'd a couple of scenes and came up with a plausible story line. We've got a climax now, where everything comes to a head and the audience will hopefully be shocked. We tape recorded it so today, I've got to write down the key points and submit it to Heather. She's promised to begin tonight to knit the various scenes together now that we have a throughline.

Both hands raised, Ms J! YESSSSSSSS!!!!!

Still though, I'll feel much better when we have an actual script to study. We plan to perform this in June.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the baseball game. It was pretty boring, but I did enjoy the company of the other men. There were four of us - two were engineers like me and the other was a conductor. We made our own fun. And if it matters to you, The New York Yankees beat our Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1.

The Yankees have a player on their team who recently signed a ten-year contract to play baseball for 25 million dollars per year. That's right, Ms J. The man will earn a quarter of a BILLION dollars to play a game.

I wonder how many hungry children that could feed?

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