Squinting over bank statements, trying to make sense of receipts, downloading emailed invoices, and digging into past tax records, has been beyond taxing, to say the least!
I am the worst record keeper of financials, love running Lily's Cottage, but the part I absolutely detest, is doing the books. That department has been grossly neglected for the past couple of years, so of course tax returns have become a nightmare!
Nothing is certain except death and taxes - Benjamin Franklin, 1789.
Another sure thing is there's no escaping the tentacles of the taxman desperately bleeding the departed, one last time!
Hubby's final taxes are being done by the attorneys, but I had to dig up whatever numbers I could find for the last couple of months of his life. We for sure want to claim as much as we can. We have paid taxes all our lives, and would not feel so resentful if our government was not using our hard-earned money to line their own pockets, and only leaving the crumbs for service delivery!
The BnB now is my sole responsibility, and I was contemplating flying under the radar, but had nightmares of making headline news -
Septuagenarian arrested for tax evasion!
My very good friend has been a lifesaver, she's been number-crunching all her working life, whereas I was in the technical field.
She adjusted my spreadsheets to make more sense, instructed me to lock myself in my office once a month and capture income and expenses, and introduced me to a super-efficient tax practitioner. 2024 is done and dusted, but the greedy taxman has informed me that I'm now a provisional taxpayer. Not a bad thing though, will keep me on my toes, so I don't end up with a nightmare once a year.
Fraudsters
It's been a difficult week, not only because of taxes.
Another sure thing is fraudsters, especially here in SA, sad to say!
Someone fraudulently opened a South African bank account in my son's name. He now lives in the Netherlands and asked me to call the bank in question! Fortunately, that account was stopped before the fraudster even picked up the card. Some banks have self-service booths to make it easier for their clients, but of course easier for fraudsters as well!
An Unexpected Welcome Gift
On the upside, Dean had a nice surprise this week. He joined a fishing club near their new home. Turns out he was the 1000th member to join; the club contacted him this week, and he was treated to a new rod. flowers for Andi, vouchers, and a tour of some of the good fishing spots, and he made it into the Zevenaars Nieuwsblad;)
Unsettling Would-be Guests
I had a very unsettling online booking; Truecaller told me the would-be guest works at a bank. He called numerous times asking if I received payment and if he could have visitors. A definite NO from me, and a reminder that he would need to present his ID and the card at check-in.
I offered free cancellation if he preferred to book larger accommodation, but advised I could only reverse the card payment after he confirmed the cancellation. He requested cancellation but did not respond to the booking site, so the booking remained valid, and I couldn't reverse the payment!
I may be wrong, but was he using a bank client's card? If I had made a payment from my account, I for sure would have wanted the money to go back into my account!
I have been in touch with the bank and booking site, so am waiting for feedback!
A Quickie before Midday Prayers!
A couple of days later, a car stopped at the gate, my staff opened it, thinking it was a new guest.
A man stepped out, fully dressed to go for midday prayers, but asked if he could book an hour!
Everyone in the BnB business knows what a one-hour booking request means!
He was not impressed when I told him we do not accept hourly guests, and quoted an inflated rate for a minimum stay of two nights!
He was in a hurry, it already was 11 am, and asked where the nearest BnB is! I told him there was a lodge in a suburb not too far from us.
We'll have to be more careful before opening the gate, and not assume it's a new guest!
A Sad Goodbye
The week ended on an awfully sad note with the memorial of my friend's husband. Their three children all said their goodbyes, as did my friend. There wasn't a dry eye in that church, a beautiful family lost a husband and father way too early!
I was crying not just for them, but also for myself, and for other friends who lost their darling men last year.
Life just ain't fair!
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And of course everyone knows what a Quickie is Lizzie 🤣
That was cool Dean got a new rod for being the 1000th member!
Taxes and governments and service provided / corruption ... eh no comment!
😂 I was thinking of you Ed...not in that way😂 but I know, you know, what a 1 hour booking is...not in that way😅 We spoke about this before as your Mom had the same requests when running her guesthouse. I was so annoyed could not resist that 'quicky'😅
Yes I had quite a chuckle that Dean made it into the local news, what are the chances of being the 1000th, all the way from SA😉 So happy for him, it certainly was the right move.
It was a week full of ups and downs!
Nice chatting Ed, enjoy what's left of the weekend 🤗
Wow ! So many things to deal with.
Glad you have a good friend that could help you organize about keeping up with your expenses. If you don't work in the "numbers" there is almost always am easier way than you can think up yourself.
Everywhere you look, the fraudsters, scammers and thieves have their hands and eyes in everything. Nothing seems to be the least bit safe anymore. Our government lets themselves be hacked for our social security numbers (not sure that was not on purpose, although of course they can't admit that) and even the powerful firm that has my company's 401 and retired info be hacked. After I bit, you realize that no matter how careful and vigilant you are with your own info and making sure not to be scammed out of it directly, it doesn't seem to matter much in the end. Disgusting !
That was a fun story about your son being the 1000th member and getting those fun prizes. Good is still happening all over, it just seems a little harder to see as you sift through all the crap !😃
I am so thankful that my friend came to the rescue. I should have asked her when we first started the BnB, but we didn't realize we'd become so busy. I think the taxman took way too much from us the past couple of years, but it's too late for tears!
As for fraudsters, they're getting more sophisticated but there's also those who work within organizations and sell clients' information.
I had a good chuckle at my son's good fortune and lovely start in their new city. They've bought a house in Zevenaar, quite a distance from his office, but he mostly works from home, and their trains are amazing, so he can just sit back and relax when travelling to work.
This week has been a real rollercoaster ride.
Thank you for stopping by for a chat Jacey🤗
I re-read my comment and it had so many typos, I wondered how on earth you could keep up with what I was "trying" to say. LOL.... jeepers !
I'm sure people do sell the info sometimes and I'm sure they have gotten paid well for their theft. I am not even sure why companies operate online anymore. I know it is the times, but for real, there is no program that is safe. It's ALL a gamble it seems.
It's funny, but not ha ha funny, how it seems when one thing goes a little sideways, several other things seem to as well, like they come in groups. Not fun ! Not fun at all !
A professional chartered accountant is an angel, as she is doing our taxes since Papillon started in 2002. She loves our work and also does our personal tax submissions, all for free. So that's a big worry off our backs.
So the 1 hour guy that that you ran "Lizzie's Knock Shop". What a hoot. I wonder why he doesn't want the payment back?
Dean is surely to hold the SA flag up high in Dutch land. Kudos to him. I am sure that he is going to teach the guys some proper fishing methods.
I often wonder why us Septuagenarians seem to be targeted by the tax man. They have plenty money now from the taxes in the two-pot system to line the pockets of the government.
Sad about the young husband, and hope that the wife will cope. It is not great to have no father.
Prayers for them.
!PIZZZA and all our !LUV
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Oh my word Zac, what a name🫣
The one that hasn't asked for "his" money back is the scamster would-be guest.
It's as if the gremlins were let loose here this past week!
I'm so proud of Dean, and happy he made this move.
Yes, I was so saddened, still am, he had just turned 64, not that young, but much younger than Arthur and I.
It's the most awful thing to lose one's life partner💔
That's what they called the 1 hour places in the 60s milady.
Ah okay, he might be scared of being found out and incriminating himself.
Gremlims aplenty, but thankfully you handled them all with aplomb.
You should be proud of your son, as he is a great guy that loves his mother.
Oh yes, it is always very hurtful for those left behind, and I have thankfully learned to accept all, as my mom was 51 when she was called, and all of the rest are also gone. Never easy, but life goes on.
All blessings and !LUV to you.
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I am so sorry to hear that you lost your Mom at such a young age Zac, so tragic!
Hope you're having a good week so far <3
We simply have to endure the tricks of life and keep the memories in our hearts milady.
A heavy and wild southeaster wind blowing here today, but even that is also good, as it blows all the germs out to sea.
Hope that your week started much better.
!PIZZA and !LUV
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Wow! Congrats to your son! That's crazy someone tried to open an account in his name! And an hourly rate guest! Ha! You certainly have had an interesting week. Blessings to you!
Thank you @apanamamama, it for sure was a week that brought mixed emotions! Thankfully one little ray of light, I had a good chuckle at my son's little windfall on their new city.
Blessings to you and your family as well!
Good evening and greetings. Quite an interesting article display that my friend showed.
Thank you @mnurhiver
#$%& the feds, regardless of the nation in question.
What upsets me even more is that there are people within government who get away with gross tax evasion yet they hound the average earner!
The political class is our modern oligarchy. There is no equality under the law. Democracy is an illusion, a veneer of legitimacy to mask the biggest organized crime rackets on the planet.
The awful truth is that we have no power to stop it!
Life isn't fair when young family lose father in a home, thoughts with them during tough days ahead.
Taxman is ever taking more than they should I have to still finalize and dreading this week ahead!
Swindlers are rife in our country, it's scary how one has to be alert with every move we make or message we receive of late.
Take care and keep smiling.
Yes my friend warned me last year already to keep all receipts, SARS is desperate to bleed us dry! They need to look at those high earners in government and elsewhere! I have to catch up with my records for the next tax year but at least am more organized!
Yes, I was feeling very down knowing what my friend is going through right now, but I cooked up a storm this afternoon, and bounced back again.
Having done taxes for years never a problem, now I think they use terms to confuse people into not doing it the right way, am running around currently to seek a little additional advice.
I print off most things, capture and save into online/off-line filing with the tax you never know what tricks they will pull out of the hat, destroyed the country now the slow boil on the citizens.
Yes, I've printed out bank statements to pull out whatever I can claim. I was screwing my eyes switching between windows, and ended up with such a headache so decided to go the old paper route with that exercise!I forget too many small expenses, and of course they all add up to a substantial amount!
Good luck with yours Joan, I'm carrying on today doing catch-up for 2025 tax records. My friend made it so much easier!
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@papilloncharity(1/15) tipped @lizelle