Tick-Tock Taxes

I get lots of mail at this time of the year--none of it particularly fun. I'm getting more than ever this year because my father had funds at a dozen different investment companies, portions of those funds transferred to me on his death, and now some of them require tax reporting. I keep thinking, "Next year won't be so complicated" but "next year" seems always to bring its own complications.

I file income tax in Canada. I also file a form--a fully filled-out income tax form--with the U.S., saying that I pay Canada taxes so don't owe anything. It makes for a lot of paperwork.

Although Canada gives you till April 30 to file, they make up for it in another way. You have to contribute to your retirement package by February 28. None of this "set up an IRA on April 15" stuff. You have to commit ahead of time. So meeting with an accountant is like getting a pedicure the week of Valentine's Day--you can do it, but it might be rushed.

Sometimes I feel as if I'm drowning in paperwork. I think longingly of the days when I lived all on one side of the border. Actually, I never did--my heart was always here, though my body and the paperwork were in the country down south.

But this morning, a red fox trotted past, intent on dinner. Yesterday afternoon, a pair of yearling does kept me company (outside the sliding glass doors) while I emailed in my office. Later this afternoon, we'll head out on cross-country trails that start just outside our door and keep us busy for an hour.

So yeah, that's worth a bit of paper.