Wednesday 5 April 2017

Taxes and death

Well, I am not going to talk about death just yet. I have the goal of reaching 120 and I am not even halfway yet. Up till then, I will have to pay taxes. Even in Norway! About one third of my wages is taxes to both national and local authorities. They use that money to build bus stops where there were perfectly fine bus stops to begin with and to close roads for a month and then not open them for six. 

However, once the tax year ends (December 31st), there may be a bit of money in the pot that is due to come back to me. And I know it is, since I pay in extra each month. I get by fine on the wages minus that extra, so getting it back is a nice bonus. However, once the returns go online, it is nearly impossible to see them. Everybody wants to know how much they get back. Or in some cases what the tax bomb will be if they have to pay back. 

So, patience was the name of the game yesterday. And finally, just before I went to bed, I was able to log in to my personal site and see that yes, I would get back. A nice amount as well, not huge, but nice enough. Of course I won't get it back immediately. The tax office will pay me when they get around to it. Which could be anything from June to October. Mind you, the later the better really, since their interest rates are higher than my saving account's rates! 

Oh, and just so you know: I can NOT see anybody else's returns, nor can they see mine. Unless there is hacking involved. But people here in Norway are quite open about money and will gladly tell you how much they get back/have to pay. 

11 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    Similar system in OZ... here I don't know as am, thankfully, beyond that point. Glad the return is making you smile! YAM xx

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    1. Oh yes. I have allocated already as well. And no, not on chocolate...

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  2. Ohhhhhh yes city and states love spending our hard earned money on unnecessary things. Recently they paid pot loads of money for a new design of a bus stop. No way it would keep folks dry in bad weather too many angles
    Hugs Madi and mom

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  3. Same here ! If they have to pay they complain and if they get something back they are happy and let people know how much. We had a nice surprise we got 250 € back from electricity and my friend had to pay 350, she was less happy !

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  4. It is interesting that people are open about sharing the amount with others. That is rather late to get the money back but if they are giving you interest then that's okay!

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  5. So you don't have to file taxes, they sort it out and just tell you??

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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    1. I have to check their numbers, but they take the numbers automatically from banks, work etc. So, there shouldn't be any discrepancies.

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  6. I can't believe they also pay you interest on your money. Around here they are happy to take what extra money we end up giving them and there is no interest paid on what is due back to us. The Feds gave us back our money fairly quickly after we filed but the state took over 2 months and during that time there was 0 interest earned.

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  7. Our tax year ends on 5th April and I will have to calculate whether or not I have overpaid. I am sure I have but I'm not in the mood to sort it just yet.

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  8. So Norway Also does those CRAZY projects ... to justify Charging MORE in TAXES. SHEEEESH... PEEPS are CRAZY.

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  9. If we e-file here, they are likely to deposit into our account within two weeks.

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!