March 8, 2015

The taxman cometh


This week began with a bit of jolt that set not only the tone, but dictated my actions for much of the next few days that would follow. While opening my mail on Monday, I was greeted with one of those letters that we all know and likely dread, with an official government stamp and no-nonsense brown kraft paper envelope.

Rarely harbingers of good news, said letter informed me that I was not just due to file my PST (the provincial sales tax collected on sales to my fellow British Columbians), but that it was overdue. This came as a substantial surprise to me, because a.) I genuinely believed based on a telephone conversation I had last year with a government phone line staff member when I set up my PST account that it was not due until the first anniversary of that date (in the spring) and 2.) because I hadn't received any kind of notice that it was due, when it was in fact actually due (earlier this year).

If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I pride myself on being extremely professional and equally punctual, so the fact that this had happened - I'm not pointing fingers at you, Government. Nope, I'd never do that ;) - ruffled my feathers big time.

Moreover, it meant that I suddenly had to get all my business accounting in order a much shorter time frame than I’d been thinking for most of the past year that I would have to work with. This meant getting all my digital business information, paperwork, receipts and the like up-to-date (well, up to the end of 2014, but I figured why not just tack the last couple of months on, too, and be properly up-to-date entirely) in less than a week or face, as the rather unfriendly letter gingerly threaded, receiving a Notice of Assessment.




{It's officially that time of the year again. Vintage image source}
 


I don't say this often, but ugh!!! Out the window went every last plan of post writing, Etsy shop listing, Easter outfit daydreaming (said major spring holiday being less than a month away at this point), and even sleep some nights, and instead I plowed through, with no shortage of curveballs along the way, to get everything in order and sent to our (mine + Tony's) accountant so that she could file my PST (and since all was up to speed, the rest of the things pertaining to my business taxes for 2014 as well).

Many lessons learned, which is a good thing. Yes, my lovelies, a good thing, because no one is expected to know everything about small business ownership and taxes in their first year (of which this is mine). I'll happily take a Band-Aid approach to baptism by fire anytime and definitely know what to do differently for next year. Drained as a beer keg at a frat party I may be after such a long week of accounting work (et al), I may be, it was an important reminder to always double check your facts and dates when dealing with the government and to try and stay on top of my business record keeping better in 2015.

Now, to just get through our personal income taxes a touch later in the spring and we should be done there. Would a second "ugh" be overkill? ;D

35 comments:

  1. I had to post my first year's taxes in January - I worried about it for months! Government organisations are intimidating, and as you discovered - it seems that advice can vary! Thankfully, after months of worry it was calculated and I was actually owed money! It arrived two weeks after it was all logged. I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was when the taxes were done, you are most likely, in the same stage of blissful lightheadedness having been free of a looming burden!

    I do also admit to a certain element of smugness that my papers are logged and in order! how long it will last is questionable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think a second ugh should be yelled from the rooftops, to be honest! One down though... well done! So unfair you didn't know you were overdue until you were overdue - as we've been discussing this week, liking to be ahead of schedule like you, that would probably have resulted in a meltdown if it were me! Well done for keeping calm in the face of pressure and just getting it done. Hooray! CC x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have to do the taxes this month ... and I plan on opening etsy this month, too. yes, easter outfits ... bright and pink, and green and florals. I should stop writing commments and start to do some little fixing on some of the garments ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. tax. ´nuff said. i hate paper work 8-P
    hope you have some relaxing time after all that work!!!
    hug you! xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh that sucks! I hate calling the Government and equally frustrating, when they don't give you the right info!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Every year I tell myself I'm going to be better prepared with my business accounting than I was the previous year. Haha. Fortunately, I'm not large enough to warrant GST collection and equally lucky we have no PST here in Alberta, otherwise I'm sure I'd be spending far more sleepless nights getting it together! You strike me as the kind of person who will without a doubt stick to your goal of having everything prepared in plenty of time for next year, and I really admire you for that. Perhaps a little envious too, especially come mid-April. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well done for keeping yourself motivated to to get it all done. If you learn something along the way then mistakes are not a bad thing in life. Once everything is sorted you can get back to being your fabulous self again. I look forward to seeing what you get up to this spring.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good luck and best wishes
    Retro rover

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oi! I think governments like to make things confusing, in general!

    I'm so glad you got it all sorted out. :)

    Now back to your Easter outfit planning! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ouch! That's not good news to get! We've had an especially complicated tax year ourselves, figuring out all the ins and outs of filing US taxes when you earn income overseas--"fun" is not the right word for any of this. :P

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's hard.... and every day it;s something new that we need to learn when it comes to tax, specially for us small business owners!
    http://inkandlacedesigns.blogspot.com.au/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh tax day.. Yeah I know your pain, sweetheart!
    x Angela // the-style-doll.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh how annoying! Phone and electricity companies are pretty bad for forgetting to send letters too!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What can I say about taxes… I, like you, pride myself on being on time and making my payments first - before anything !
    I'd be upset too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jessica, it is also tax time here in the US and I am with you...UGH!! Luckily we do not have to pay anything this year which will allow me to purchase more vintage items. Yay! Good luck!

    Kelley

    ReplyDelete
  16. I hope everything will be allright with your taxes. This was something I learned a long time ago. Even when you move of country (I lived in 5 different ones) the first thing to short out is TAXES, which some times can be very complicated and tricky! In my case it helps that I choosed as profession to become an accountant. Anyway with dealing with the government (the taxman) always due it in writing, (it's called record keeping), never trust what they say to you face to face or on the phone (because even in the case you are able to record a conversation it won't be valid in the case you've got into troubles with the taxman). As I said I hope everything will be allright. Keep your fingers crossed. Eva from Germany.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I would be throwing an absolute fit. That's ridiculous! If anyone needs to be able to make things clear in terms of deadlines, it should be the government. Good luck getting everything sorted out in time!

    ReplyDelete
  18. No amount of "ougggh" is too much.
    You know, over here the folks like saying "You only have to do two things: die and.. pay taxes" :)
    I don't spend time thinking about it much; there's a perk of working in a governmental office in a small town - my colleague, that is dealing with all the "dull-tax-related-not-for-sane-folks" matter has a sweet tooth. :) Joke aside, we are obligated to pay our taxes quarterly; OR if you're like me - I like paying mine in an instant. I like comparing that to taking out a tooth or ripping of the band-aid (you've mentioned that one). I pay in one go - and I'm set to the end of the year.

    ...
    If you feel overwhelmed by tax-doing, I have made a post about little know (if known at all!) silent siren, coming from our ground.. and there's a link to her most famous - controversial movie. Feel free to relax with that - you deserve it.

    Hugs
    Marija

    ReplyDelete
  19. Okay, I'll be the very first person to comment, Ugh! My dear friend, this is all so unjust as I know personally how on top of everything you really are. Here's to wishing you a better tax season next year, and for the rest of this year as well. Best wishes for restful nights and sweet dreams of Easter fun to come. Xx ChristyByTheSea. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much my very sweet friend. For all intents, I managed to get everything wrapped up late Sunday evening. Though I'm so drained I would like to take this week off to recoup, for a number of reasons, that simply isn't possible. I am taking Monday and Tuesday to ease back into my usual routine though, as I'm thoroughly beat by last week. Hopefully by the following Monday, things will all be back to usual workflow wise for me.

      Big hugs & tons joyful springtime wishes to you as well!
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete
  20. No, not at all. We all hate taxes. In Denmark we are simply deducted almost half (!!!) of our salary, and we all love it! Haha! Perhaps you should get into a routine of doing it on a quarterly basis, then it will not be that overwhelming. Put a reminder in your smartphone calendar, so you will not get an ugly surprise again. But lean back and think "well job", you deserve it, dear. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is brutal for sure!!! Above a certain income bracket (which honestly these days in not very high), one gets hit with having nearly that much (43%, I believe) being nabbed by the government here as well. Considering that we get taxed on a huge number of items we buy, services we pay for, etc on top of this everyday, it really can shrink one's income massively in a heartbeat.

      That's the plan for sure. Now that I know (and this is still at a pretty small business level, not some hefty company with employees and far more accounting involved) how much work involved, I'm actually going to aim to set aside just for business bookkeeping once a month. Sometimes it may happen that I get a little behind and do two or three months (thus seasonally as you wisely suggested) at once, but I do not ever, ever, ever want to do a whole year's worth at once, especially since we also have our personal income taxes to deal with, too, every spring.

      I love your idea of a reminder about "bookkeeping day". Thank you! I'll set that up right now before I get busy with something else and all too easily forget. You're always so helpful, Sanne, thanks again!

      Tons of hugs & happy Tuesday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete
    2. Oh, you're welcome, dear. I am extremely practical, I always think of solutions, I suppose I am in fine contact with my male sides here, haha. :) In Denmark we have tax on tax. E.g. if you die your inheritants (?) have to pay tax of the money you have already paid tax on, and on the value of your house and car and other expensive belongings. We also pay 25% VAT on everything, from milk to shoes. We have a joke in Denmark saying that if we got the amount on the top of our paycheck then we would all be rich. But besides that we have free hospitals, doctors, libraries, etc. Although the quality is often so bad and we have to wait for so long, so most of us have a health insurance to pay to too. :(

      Delete
    3. There are so many parallels with Canada here, including the free health care (save for certain things like most medicines and dental work), schools and libraries, but various shortcomings with these systems, too all the same. That is such a steep tax rate on purchases, wow. For most things in my province (tax rates vary somewhat from province to province), we pay 12% tax. 25 is staggeringly high. I can fully imagine what an impact that must have on the economy and on most people's ability to shop and plan their budget.

      Thankfully some things in life, like sunshine and friendship are free and we can delight in those to our heart's content no matter what the taxman is up to. :)

      Tons of hugs coming your way,
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete
  21. And PS: Do take down my ad for my shop, since I am sure you can sell that space to somebody else. It has been very kind of you to put it up for so long, and I am sorry I've forgotten to ask you to take it down. Wishing you a nice day, dear. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's very kind of you to say. Are you shutting down your shop as well as your blog? If your shop is still going to be operational, I'd be honoured to continue to keep it up and hopefully continue to drive some new fans and customers your way (please don't worry at all about not having a blog to display my shop's ad on any more - you're a treasured friend and I'm happy to help out your shop however I can).

      Oodles more hugs!
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete
    2. Oh dear, your are sweeter than candy! No, I will maintain my shop, which I still find is fun to own. I will not delete my blog, I will just stop updating it, so I will leave the add for your shop on it, but I just don't think it is fair that you keep my add up on your blog and that it takes precious space. In the end it will be your choice, sweetheart. :)

      Delete
    3. That's wonderful news!!! I love popping by to visit your shop and seeing if there's something that might be a good fit for one of my posts or simply to enjoy the new pieces you've listed lately. I will happily leave your ad up for as long as your shop is operational, no matter the state of your blog, my dear friend. Us vintage jewelry sellers have to stick together! :)

      Tons of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete
  22. Oh, Jessica. I hate that, when we make sure we have the dates correct and then something alert us that the date is due! All because of misinformation. I'm so sorry you had to deal with so much pressure and tons of work at the last minute. And was not your fault at all, because you are one of the most organized persons I know!

    I'm glad it's done now by the time I'm writing this note. I hope you can get some deserved rest now my lovely friend.

    Beta xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lovely Beta, it sincerely means a lot to me that you said that, thank you. I know that some people didn't believe me when I told them that I never got any advanced warning of this being due and that I had genuinely been told I wouldn't have to file my PST until the first anniversary of when I registered for it, so your kind vote of confidence in me means all the more and is something I really needed to hear right now.

      Huge hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete
  23. My dear also have this tax problem in Brazil, usually work only five months to pay taxes, do you believe? This means that everything we buy part is for the government. We still have to deal with the problem of great social inequality and corruption. Today in Brazil there were popular demonstrations all day. Unfortunately io tax (Most High) is a reality we have to live every day.
    I leave a big hug Cris friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my word, that sounds awful, sweet Cris. I'm very sorry that you and your fellow Brazilians have to deal with such an unfair tax system. It seems that they just get worse and worse in most countries with each passing year, as governments struggle to make money through other means and the cost of everything rises steadily.

      Oodles of big hugs coming right back at you,
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete
  24. How rubbish! A bit of warning would have been nice. Well done for getting it all sorted out so quickly. What a horrid week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That it was indeed - especially given that I'm a first time small business owner and this is pretty much all entirely new to me. Oh well, that's life, eh, and now I know and will be on the ball myself going forward in future years. There's still our personal income and Tony's business taxes to do a little later in the spring, but we have lots of experience there, so hopefully no nasty surprises.

      Sending oodles of hugs & happy start of spring wishes your way,
      ♥ Jessica

      Delete