So I went to pay my taxes this year. The year befo…
So I went to pay my taxes this year. The year before last, as my employer back then didn’t take anything out of my paycheck, I got completely raped at the tax office. Last year I just about broke even. This year I was expecting a return. People I know who make as much and more than I do had been reporting nice chunky tax returns, so naturally I had high expectations.
Turns out I just about broke even again. Oh, well. One thing that made me feel a bit better, and also a bit worse: when I went to the bank downstairs at the tax office to pay my NT$500 due, I saw a couple hauling large packs of bills over the counter to the bank person. I looked and saw that the thick stacks of bills were NT$2000 notes. They took forever in the counting machine, but apparently the couple was paying about 1.3 gazillion dollars in taxes. While I was glad I only had to pay NT$500, I can only imagine what kind of income those people are pulling in. I should have asked him for stock tips.
In other news, I think I’ve learned how to be seen as a good badminton player (I know, you’ve been waiting on tenterhooks for this kind of news). According to my observation whilst playing game after game with the pug-nosed women, I’ve found that it has precious little to do with how well you actually play. It’s all about what you do when you mess up. If you don’t do anything and just keep playing, you’re a bad player. If, however, you say “Ai-ya!” and make a face that says you completely didn’t expect to miss that shot, that really easy shot you’d normally get without thinking about it, well, then you’re a good player. I suspect that it works this way with many other sports as well.
The weather’s hot and muggy, the cicadas are starting to sing; it’s the beginning of another summer, and that’s just fine. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t really have anything to write about today; I just felt like writing.
