Les Bonnes Choses

Today I received a letter from the IRS. No! Wait! It was a good letter! It read something along the lines of:

We reviewed your tax forms and think you made a mistake. You paid us way too much in tax. Unless you disagree with us, expect a pile of cash to land in your bank account with a satisfying thud. If you would like to disagree with us...[instructions and mailing address follow]

Seriously?

My experience with the Canada Revenue Agency has been ... different. For starters, I don't think I have gone more than one year without one of my deductions being challenged (this year I have to submit my moving expense receipt). I've certainly never had the CRA tell me they owed ME money. And it's not because I've never been overtaxed either, because I'm pretty sure you can find one of my old blog entries describing how a phone call to the CRA to resolve their claim that I had a balance owing uncovered that they owed me several hundred dollars from the previous year. So I guess maybe in a perverted way, I did receive a letter that resulted in the Canadian government refunding me money, but only if you are open to very unconventional interpretations.

So that's one difference I have noticed between the two countries, perhaps rooted in America's historical roots in a tax revolt. But that's just a guess. And I suppose it could be worse: In Soviet Russia, the taxes refund YOU!