Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!watdragon!ebspencer
From: ebspencer@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Bruce Spencer)
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Re: income tax: what's this nonsense?
Message-ID: <12872@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Date: 30 Mar 89 15:45:36 GMT
References: <144@mindlink.UUCP> <1989Mar29.002321.5939@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> <1107@apss.apss.ab.ca> <1989Mar29.212532.22054@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu>
Reply-To: ebspencer@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Bruce Spencer)
Distribution: can
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 23

I've just found a new twist that seems, well - I'll let you guess how
fair I think it is.

I pay tax by quarterly installments because I don't get enough deducted from
source. There are two ways to calculate the installment - go by last
year's earnings, or guess what you will be making. I'm a PhD student
whose funds are dwindling so that this year I expect to make less than last. 
So I want to pay by my expected earnings for 1989. Ok so far.

Here's the twist. If I get really industrious, finish up, and start
earning real money, say, in September, I will end up not giving enough 
for my first three installment. RevCan wants the installments to be
equal so I will owe interest, calculated at usurous rates, for the first 
installments. 

Or, in a few words, I'll owe income tax on income I hadn't earned yet!

Yep, sounds fair to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ebspencer@watdragon.waterloo.cdn  Bruce Spencer          
                                  CS Dept, University of Waterloo,
(519) 885-1211, x3626             Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L-3G1.