Stupid friggin’ tax thing

I could have sworn that I just did this all last year. What more do they want from me?

I’m not, on the whole, an ignorant person. I like to keep myself informed on matters of international interest. I pick up new concepts easily, especially when there is math involved. I can reason circles around most people (not necessarily most people I know, but most people) and overall I am Not Dumb. However, as soon as someone starts explaining what sort of refunds and tax benefits I can expect I blank out.

I don’t know what it is about accounting that fails to penetrate my skull. Basically, it’s math, right? I have earned a$ this year. I have spent b$ on stuff that effectively reduces my salary. I can probably get away with claiming that another c$ was also business-related. And then there’s the d$ that I spent on schooling. That was only effective last year, but I have carried it over to this year because my investments of e$ brought me to my effective deduction limit of f$… so I might as well defer some of the g$ I contributed to my RRSP to next year… So I’m not getting taxed on the RRSP contributions, and I’m getting a reduction of h% on the school fees… um. But then stuff gets shifted around, and there’s some form from work saying that I’ve made less than the government thinks. Or less? And the form from my landlord says how much building tax I’ve payed, right? So however much that is… um… I’m not going to be taxed on it because I’ve already paid it into taxes? Is that what’s happening? Bear in mind that I’m just guessing wildly here.

The whole concept of money is an odd one, and what’s even more odd is spending money on goods and services that manage your money. Money is supposed to be what you use to get stuff, right? So striving for money itself has always seemed weird to me. Banking, investment, stocks and bonds, and this yearly how-far-can-I-stretch-the-truth-before-the-government-catches-on ritual. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the hang of it.