Of Taxes and Death

They said that there are two things in this world you can't escape from – death and taxes, though I know of at least one country where everything is tax-free. No wonder life insurance companies will stay with us forever.

I filed our taxes last night, my husband's and mine – e-filling, of course. I was then again astounded at the efficiency of the Singapore government. I remember those times back when I was working in Manila, filing taxes was such a burden. You have to fill up three copies of the tax form, wherein you have to fill in every detail every single gawd-damn year. I had to use a typewriter then with carbon papers, because my hand-writing was scratchy. Lucky me, our HR department collected the tax forms and submitted them in batch, but I pity those who had to line-up in a BIR office.

Here in Singapore, you have a choice whether you want to do it the electronic way or by post. You receive the tax form months before the dateline, which is 15th of April. This form already got your details right, your E-PIN is there, though now they were changed to SINGPASS. All you need to write is your income, if your employer was enrolled in some way, you don't have to do that, too. Place the completed form in the envelope they have sent with the form, go to the nearest MRT station where you can find a SingPost box, drop it there and viola! You have already filed your taxes. If you're like me, who opts to use the net, you can all do it in less than five minutes.

With that kind of service, I can say that I'm a happy taxpayer. I know that my S$600 tax for one year did not go to waste. Hey! Don’t go scrambling to grab your calculator to do the maths, that's not the exact figure I'm paying.

I take the bus and MRT to go to work, and this morning I've seen a news flash over at the Channel News Asia aired in TV Mobile, which is a common thing in the buses here in Singapore. The Pope was given the last rites, it said. The most revered human being on earth is dying, though the Vatican denies it. Not that I'm wishing for him to die, he's an old man for Chrisssake! But I’m pretty sure he's gonna snuff it any time soon. What excites me now is that we're going to have a new pope soon. I wonder who it is going to be. Will he be as compassionate as his predecessor? Will he create a stir in the religious community? What will be his opinion on the war against terrorism?

We go to wakes to see the face of the dead one last time and think of how fleeting life is. Reflection only happens when death becomes suddenly all familiar. The Pope is a famous man, though I haven't met him personally, he was something personal to me. He was the embodiment of a Church I truly believe in. I'm not a religious Catholic, but I try my best to be at peace with God.

There was a prophesy that this pope we have right now is the last pope – when he dies, a great war will break loose and hell comes to earth. I can't wait to watch this prophesy to be proven wrong.