taxes

can i tell you about our taxes?

we took everyday the government gave us, every day of rest, and every holiday the district of columbia instituted, to get our taxes done.  and it took us almost all of denmark's tuesday to get them postmarked.

greg brought them to work on tuesday to make one more photocopy.  i bought envelopes at the super best (which only come in packs of twenty by the way, because you don't want too many envelopes crowding up your desk drawers here in denmark).  i picked the guys up from school and we met greg leaving home as we were pulling in.  all part of our plan to get to the post office on time.  the burley swapped bikes because greg's got a bit (okay, a lot) more stamina for the longer journeys, and we rode to the post office.  only our second trip there, which might explain why you have not received a postcard from us.

greg went in and i took henry out to nurse and walk around.  after a refreshing three hour nap at school he wasn't about to sit in an idle burley.  william though had settled in for a nice long burley nap on the way to the post office.  greg came out, envelopes in hand.  we needed around 200 kroner to send both letters certified, plus another letter (so someone's getting something from us-- look for it in six weeks) but greg only had 100 and he'd left his wallet at work.  "no problem," i said.  "i've got my visa, i'll go in and pay.  did you have a chance to ask about the mail we've been waiting on?"  "no, she didn't give me a chance to get much of a word in."  "okay, i'll ask."  in i go.  i fill out the certified mail forms, and when my turn came (there were only a few people in there), i walk up to the desk.  as the clerk was looking over the forms, i started to ask her the question about our missing mail.  "can you tell me..." "no, you can't use that here (she was pointing to the visa i was taking out of my wallet).  only dankort card here."  "but... i... swear i used my visa the last time i was here."  "no.  and the next time you come here, you need to take a number.  the man behind you had this number (pointing to the screen above her head)."  i looked behind me to a man looking at me with a disapproving tsk tsk smile.  "okay.  sorry.  can you tell me if there's an atm machine around here."  "no."  "... nowhere? you don't know?" "no." " .... okay... thanks."  i leave.  a man leaving at the same time as me asks, "is there anything i can help you with? that clerk, she's always rude." "yes, i didn't think she was very nice."  i am happy for the validation.   "well," i tell him.  "we need to send in our taxes.  the irs will not be happy with us if we don't." (okay, he can't help us with that of course.)  "do you know if there's an atm around here?"  he suggests a couple of places and tells us he is a foreigner too.  "oh, where from?" "from norway."  ah, a scandinavian, yet, somehow a foreigner like we are.  we tell him why we are here... the most common of questions... "why are you in denmark?"  some danes ask it in a way that makes me think they are trying to act surprised that anyone would want to come and live in their modest little country.  (i imagine the postal clerk would ask it in this way, if she were ever forced into that sort of conversation with us.) it's as if maybe they will get us to rethink our decision, if they act surprised enough at our presence in denmark.  i think they don't want the secret to get out.  but i also think their immigration policies make it impossible for a person to come over solely because he or she falls in love with the social safety nets or the generous vacation time.  but the man from norway asks without motive.  we tell him.  he wishes us luck, and we go to search out an atm.  we find one not too far away.  i consider informing the clerk when we return to the post office, to be helpful, in case anyone else asks her someday.  but i suspect if she were to think hard enough, she would have an answer.  in any event, greg goes back in this time.  after a few minutes, he comes out.  he has two receipts with april 17th written on them.  there.  that should keep the irs from requesting a fine, though given the amount of money we spent to send it (nearly $40), it felt a little like a fine to us.  only of course, to the wrong government.

but we'd done it.  relief.  taxes are over.  at least for one country... for this year.  we rode home and ate fruit salad and cabbage soup, which i'd made earlier in the day.  i won't have time to cook dinner early today as i leave directly after posting this for danish classes and then to get a little hen from school.

until next time...