Shiralee was kung fu fighting

Ok, so here's what's been happening recently. The biggie is that the tax man has decided to demand a substantial amount of money in unpaid taxes for money I received from renting the house in Nixon, - the fact that I was out of the country is, seemingly, irrelevant. I made the foolishly patriotic decision to remain resident in the UK for tax purposes while I was abroad and now I have to pay the price. I have no idea if the assessment sent is correct because I have no idea where they got their figures from. They sent me a couple of sanctimonious letters asking for documentary evidence of the income from renting, implying that I had several houses that I had rented out (so not true) and when I couldn't find the documents - and that has pissed me off no end - they made their decision based on information they already held (god knows where from) and information I had sent them based on my bank statements. So that's about £2,400 they want.

On top of that they have decided to apply capital gains tax on the sale of the house - I guess because, although I lived in the house when I first bought it, I was too nice to throw my tenant out when I came home for the summer and it was sold before I returned from Argentina. Only they haven't just made an assessment. Oh no, they've sent me a bloody long, complicated and mostly irrelevant set of forms to fill in. My reading is that I'll be taxed at 18% on the difference between the cost of the house and the the amount I received when it was sold, less £10,000 tax free allowance. Well we all know how house prices have risen over the last few years so I'm guessing I'll be in debt to the taxman until I retire.

Interestingly they add interest to the outstanding amount on a daily basis, backdated to when the tax was originally due and there is a 5% surcharge every six months on any debts outstanding. To be honest, when I received the first letter, I though it was a wind-up (it was dated 1st April), then I reasoned that I hadn't earned that much from the rental - I still have to check those figures - and, when I got the demand I was both angry and worried. Angry because I have always paid my dues to the country, even when I wasn't living here and worried because I hate owing money. I even considered taking in a lodger (you can received up to £4250pa without having to declare it) but then I'd have to pay the full council tax and I wouldn't get any benefit should I become unemployed again. I know it sounds mean but I'm sick of giving and getting next to nothing in return.

So now I've adopted a 'que sera, sera' attitude. I will pay the money - I don't have any choice and I'm pretty sure I won't be getting any tax rebates for past years (even if I'm entitled to them) but as I earn less than £12,000 a year gross, the tax man will just have to accept what I can afford, when I can afford it.

And I'm not going to worry about it and I'll be damned if I'm going to lose any more sleep over it!