Yes, the dreaded chores of officaldom ate my week…
… but only because I was still fighting that dratted cold/flu thing.   Not at my sharpest, I’m afraid, and yet still had to do all those official-type things previously mentioned, plus one more that I had not even known about.
Apparently, on acquiring an off-site office for my writing, I became an Actual Business in the eyes of my town’s tax code.  And the other day I got a call from the Town Assessor’s office about property tax on the contents of my office.  I had not filed a thing I was supposed to file but never knew about, involving money that I should have paid them!  They were not angry, just concerned.
Much discussion, with two different people at the Assessor’s office.  They did not know quite what to make of me… I don’t manufacture anything, I have no clients, I’m not a service nor a consultant. And yet, I have a location, and objects in it, used in the course of plying my trade. It seems that I’m the only actual real author they ever had to deal with!  I guess all the other authors have offices in their home or in their attics.
I had sad visions of getting hit with a bill that would make it impossible for me to afford maintaining my beloved workspace… But not to fear.  After the complex detailed form was completed (carefully confirming that I did not have any horses or ponies, did not store farm equipment, did not have any manufacturing equipment, etc), it looks like my tax bill will be a whopping $35, or thereabouts.
I’m pretty sure I can handle that.
Eight pages of this.
So, all is well.  Plus, I am now known at Town Hall, which is always a good idea.
And the cold is almost gone, just in time for Christmas. And all my really important shopping is done.  Well, urgent shopping, anyway. There are people I don’t see until well after the holidays, which means that I can snag prezzies at sale prices. Heh.
News about people who are not me:
Jo Walton has revealed the cover of her next book, following on The Just City and The Philosopher Kings.  This will be coming out in June, which is a long away away, alas…
But if you want something Right! Now! , and you loved Ellen Kushner’s Riverside (from Swordspoint, The Privilege of the Sword, and The Fall of the Kings — her collaboration with Delia Sherman), do check out the Riverside-inspired stories being released in serial form by Serial Box.  You can have ebook versions or audio versions, and I’m going to get one set, but I haven’t decided which yet. And I do believe that there are more on the way. (Also, check out the cool hand-cut silhouette art that illustrates the “covers.”)
And sad news: the famous Emmy, co-star of Chad Orzel’s How to Teach (Quantum) Physics to Your Dog and How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog has passed away. I’m sad I never got to meet her. In my mind, she will live forever, trying to chase quantum bunnies around both sides of trees.
December 20th, 2015 at 9:45 am
I’d say being the only author on the tax rolls is quite a distinction!
December 21st, 2015 at 8:58 am
Your brain is your manufacturing equipment! It produces words and ideas. Good thing that’s not taxable…
December 21st, 2015 at 9:21 am
I don’t understand at all — they’re requiring a fee for renting an office that isn’t open to the public? Is this some kind of license? I mean, when I opened my bookstore, I had to get a business license so the city could tax me, but that was open to the public. You just rented a private space to work in — do they tax all the people who work at home? If you’d stayed at home to work, you wouldn’t be required to pay this fee. It just makes no sense.
However, I’m glad your cold is abating, as is mine. Happy holidays!
December 21st, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Well, the office is an office in a building zoned as offices. That might be part of it.
Meh. $35, I’m not going to quibble.
Glad you’re feeling better, too. So many people got hit with this thing!