Pay Your Taxes...All of Them!

This is a friendly reminder in this season of the taxman, to pay up!
Importers, Roasters, Cafes, Cafe Owners and Barista all have special and individualized obligations to accurately and truthfully assess and remit tax returns to their respective governments. Governments have special powers to make sure you eventually pay your taxes or face stiff fines, staggering interest rates and even jail time.

While I don't know much about the tax code here in Canada (my accountant does) let alone the Euro Zone, Pacific Rim or the US, I do know that failure to submit a return and tax fraud (intentionally lying on a return) is reserved for especially harsh treatment by the authorities, so here's my advice.

1. Get your paperwork in front of a qualified bookkeeper, accountant or tax professional in good order and on time.

2. File your completed and accurate tax forms on time even if you don't have the money to pay what is due.

3. Immediately contact your government tax office and make arrangements to pay off any tax that is due in a time period you can afford.

4. Business owners must absolutely pay payroll, sales, health taxes and report them accurately. These monies are generally collected by the business owners from customers on behalf of the government and is therefore held "in trust". Failure to pay these taxes can result in the government immediately seizing your bank accounts and shutting down your business overnight.

5. Ignoring the problem will definitely end up in personal and business failure...guaranteed. There is an infamous case of an espresso bar owner who at year end will owe over $800,000 and with it compounding at an annual rate of 20%, will owe over a million dollars next year.
Life changing, life sentence. Pay Your Taxes...All of Them