Rants of a Rebecca

Sir Humphrey would be proud

Hi Vanilla Ice Cream, and other non exciting flavours. Well it is that time of the year for me, bath time. No, only joking, that is a bi-annual event. The yearly event I am talking about is tax time. Now this is not your usual gripe about tax, we all have them, we have all been there, I'm not going to go on about that. Instead, I'm going to relate to you all my current tax situation. I have no idea with tax, that's why I see an accountant. They don't cost any money to see, because you get to claim it on the next years income, so why not let them worry about your tax stuff. For the last 12 years, I had been using the same accountant, then last year, he turned into a real arsehole, and refused to do my tax anymore. On top of that, it also turned out, that instead of getting a return, I would have to pay about $1,100 in tax. At the time, he said he would forward the details to me, as to what I needed to do to repay this debt. Anyway, fast forward to the current tax year (for our unAustralian friends, or tax is done here every June 30, and you have until the end of October to lodge stuff), and I get a letter from the tax department, informing me they are taking legal action against me to recover my tax debt, seeing as though I had not contacted them for the last year. Whoa! Hold your horses there Dilberts, a bit of information required please. Well, it turns out, they had been sending the notices to my former accountant, who in return, was using them to wipe his arse or something, because nothing was forwarded on to me. Further more, I didn't have a tax debt of $1,100, I have a tax debt of $4,000, with interest being charged at rates credit card providers could only dream about charging. Ok, so I have a big tax debt, something to deal with, but it is the way the debt has been worked out that Sir Humphrey would be proud to call his own. I will try to explain it in some form. I have a personal tax debt of $1,100.

• Tax department open an old business file of mine, and call it a business tax.
• Because it is a business tax, they now require me to pay provisional tax on next year.
• The amount the "business" is earning, is based on my previous personal income.
• The personal tax from the last year is still current, and also being charged interest.
• OK, so are you all still with me now? I'm not, but I will rant on further about this. I know I owe them the money for the personal tax from last year, well at least now I know I owe it, so I can start paying it back, but the business stuff is different.

Even though I can prove I don't run a business. Even though I can prove that I have made no money as a business, I still have to pay the tax department this money. If I don't pay them this money, I then will be charged more interest, and face court action, to get the money back. If I pay the money back, then next year, I get to claim it all back, as a tax return. So here is my question to you all, why they hell don't they just realise how bullshit this whole situation is, and call it quits? I don't owe them anything at all, but they want the money from me, to prove I owe them nothing, so why don't they just accept nothing, and be done with it? Well thanks to the ATO, that can't happen, because they have no right to erase a debt, until it has been paid, even though this debt has been fully formed by them in error. You know, I think I might just chuck it all in and become a begger on the street. Oh hang on, that would be seen as a small business by the Australian Taxation Office, and I would be back to square one. Bastards! Blog Out HooRoo Bec

posted by Rebecca @ 10/26/2005 04:33:00 pm