Korean Job Discussion Forums

[macosie]

OK... so after living in Seoul for a year, I did a bit of travelling, and then moved back to Calgary, Canada and went to work. Sounds normal, eh?

Wasn't happy back home, decided to come back to Korea, and teach again. Also pretty much par for the course.

Before I came back, I went to an Accounting firm in Calgary, CompassTax. They specialize in Expat taxes and stuff.

I signed over power of attorney for them to deal with my taxes. Actually, at first I was very pleased with what they did for me with my tax returns from previous years. I had screwed them up, and Peter J. Simpson, and the gang at CompassTax were very helpful in fixing them.

However, it's with my last tax return from my short recent stint at home that problems have developed. The taxes were fairly simple to process, because it was only one T4, an interest claim from my student loans, and a declaration of non-residency. I've used tax software before and typing that into the computer would take minutes.

It cost me almost $600!!! I have a friend who paid a little more for his business taxes, which are WAY more complicated. That's not where the fun stops.

I complained about the amount I was billed, and for the past 8 months have been waiting for a resolution to the problem. Basically I'm consistantly told that they are looking into the issue, and then I don't hear from them until I pester them again. Every time I email them, the reply is "We'll look at your file."

Being in Korea, I'm pretty much stuck as emailing them is most convenient... but for them it's also the easiest to ignore, I think. I'm pretty much fed-up with this whole situation. As an expat, I don't seem to have many options to dealing with companies like CompassTax. It's not like I can go down to their office and demand to see Mr. Simpson.

I've sent a complaint to the Southern Alberta Better Business Bureau, but haven't heard ack from them. Where can you go when you feel like you've been ripped off?

Maybe I expected too much, and I was definitely naive in expecting a reasonable billing rate. $600 for 15 minutes or typing, a phone call to my parents(still don't understand that one) and continued neglect. I should have become an accountant, but then again, I don't think I could treat someone like that with a clear conscience.

To fellow expats, I don't know what to say. I thought going through an accountant would save me alot of headaches. It didn't. Maybe it's easier to do it yourself when you get home. If you do use an accountant, make sure you find out what the billing rate is... that was my fault for not, but I kinda doubt they would have told me anyway.

All I can say is BEWARE and avoid CompassTax.

Anyone out there have a better, worse or similar experience?

[mindmetoo]

Having worked at a tax software company for five years, I pretty much can handle most anything myself. What I can't handle, I've got a couple CA friends owing me favors I can give a jingle.

[RachaelRoo]

Canadians: Doing your taxes yourself is not hard. Go to Revenue Canada's website and find out what you need and then just fill out the forms. It may look overwhelming, but 98% of the lines don't apply to you so you can just put 0 or leave them blank.

It may take you 2 or 3 hours the first time, but you will learn how Canadian personal income taxes actually work, which is good to know.

Also, even if it takes you 3 hours and you save $60 by not going to an accountant or buying tax software, that's like making $20/hour, right?
You have a real motivation to do the best job you can on your taxes and to look for anything that could apply to you, but some accountant may not pay such close attention.

As an expat, just read the few pages of the income tax act that pertains to declaring non-resident status and get the basic forms. Everything you need to know is on Rev Can's website.

[chronicpride]

Tax issues for Canadian expats in Korea

[macosie]

My reason's for having an Accountaint deal with my taxes in the first place was that I had sdone them myself, and messed it up. Northern Tax allowances and such are a pain in the but. When I left, I had some serious peoblems, and I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. So... I let the experts do it. For that first bit, I was happy. Being in Korea, I was lazy the second time around, and the accountaint tried to bend me over. I wasn't happy. Now I have a complaint in with the BBB, and we;ll see what happens.

[Cedar]

After two years (not filing) I had a professional do my taxes, and since then have followed her lead. She knew at the time I'd just do it that once with her. She charged me 95 dollars, US. That was for tax years 96 and 97, though.