Last year, I received an unexpected cheque from the taxman. The reason? I had successfully paid off the last of my student loan and as a result I had overpaid on my tax return. (UK students’ tuition fees are deducted at source alongside their taxes if they are salaried employees, or when they fill out their tax returns if they are self-employed.) I thought long and hard about what a milestone this was, my good fortune in being able to do this while still doing a job I love and how I could best use this windfall to invest in my future, before going out and buying a PlayStation 5.
去年,我意外地從稅務官那裏收到了一張支票。爲什麼?因爲我之前成功地還掉了最後一筆學生貸款,結果導致我在報稅時繳納的稅金比我實際應繳的多了一些。(在英國,如果是受薪僱員,學生貸款還款會在發工資時從應稅收入中扣除,如果是自僱者,則會在報稅時扣除。)