Life's only other certainty...

You know that saying there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. Well having had enough death last year, it's time for tax...

I received a big red letter from Inland Revenue saying I have three weeks left to pay my tax bill. What tax bill? How do I work it out? What what what? In Australia you got sent a nice tax pack which had the forms you needed to complete well in advance of any deadlines. In this country, I seem to only have a bill...

I started reading on the internet, registering, adding etc etc. It looked like my bill was about 4000 sterling. I was gutted. The 10K plan had received a serious kick. But who am I to evade tax? Everyone else pays it so why shouldn't I? Fair enough, I just didn't plan to pay it in 5 days time in one lumpsum.

The next day, I had come to terms with getting 4000 pounds from somewhere and started to do some more research. Reading about tax on the internet only served to panic me further so I scurried quickly to the only accountant who would take me. It got better. Because my tax bill is so high, Inland Revenue would like half of next year's tax bill in advance. The 4000 rose to
6000. And even though I have been diligently paying my National Insurance contributions, there is apparently another category to pay - add another 8 per cent. The bill rose higher and I am now looking for some 7000 pounds. If I don't pay by Tuesday, I am fined, and charged interest.

An apartment in tax-free Monaco is looking like such a good thing...