Sunday, April 29, 2007

Taxed

Just finished doing taxes. It's easy with UFile (the online version), even enjoyable. As a self-employed taxpayer, I actually have until June to do my taxes, but we need to submit school financial-aid forms in the next week or so. The schools don't take self-employment deadlines into account.

One element of tax time always rankles me. Quebec maintains a separate tax form from Canada. All other provinces have integrated the taxation process so that taxpayers only have to fill in and submit one form. Not Quebec. Oh, no. We couldn't have that, could we? It would humiliate the nation - and no, that doesn't mean Canada.

This weekend, the downtown Delta - er, excuse me, the Delta Centreville is hosting the Blue Metropolis literary festival. Yesterday I attended a short seminar with Brian Leith, documentary filmmaker at the BBC. He had some valuable tidbits to offer, but most of it is common-sense storytelling.

One intriguing paradox was how he held the transfer of opinion and emotion from filmmaker to audience to be a positive, while manipulation of the audience was a negative. He freely admitted that there was a massive gray area there.

The attendees varied from older ladies there for kicks, to a few novelists, to budding filmmakers/researchers (I count myself among these) to younger guys who might actually have a chance at it.

Tomorrow, I turn in my Afghanistan report, scout for plain, windowless offices (if you have one in Montreal, leave me a comment/e-mail), and try to beg for camera equipment.

5 Comments:

Blogger Naila J. said...

Dude, my taxes are stupid. Stupid and lame.

I don't have a registered GST number, but I've got 2 self employed jobs for which, of course, I didn't claim or pay taxes. And the companies, of course, don't give me any forms... yet they won't allow me to collect tax, even if I DID have a GST number. So I can't put the freaking income anywhere!!!
I finally settled with "other income" but that means I'm not telling them I owe them taxes...

If I weren't a full time student, I'd totally be screwed. To make matters worse, I still haven't received two T4s from companies I've stopped working for.

AND my parents use Quick Tax, which is loads more complicated than UFile or Netfile.

Like I said, lame.

April 29, 2007 11:46 PM  
Blogger Webs said...

I don't have a company and I don't collect GST/PST either. Well, I do have a company, but I've never used it.

April 30, 2007 10:43 AM  
Blogger Elvi said...

My office at McGill has no windows. But I can't imagine fitting a whole camera in there.

April 30, 2007 11:00 AM  
Blogger Naila J. said...

So you put your stuff under other employment income?

May 1, 2007 4:06 PM  
Blogger Webs said...

I fill out the Statement of Business Activities form (T2124 according to the PDF of my return) and include freelance income on the "Sales, commissions, or fees" line. I've never charged GST/PST and I apparently don't have to. I know the governments have looked over my taxes (last year, the feds asked me to send some paper receipts) and have never said boo about it.

May 1, 2007 7:26 PM  

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