I love Christmas

I know it's been a while since me last blog so let me say, first off, 'Appy Christmas to you all...

Sorry it's a bit late but then I am a dog..

This week I thought I'd write a little bit about Christmas and what I got up to.  I had a fabulous time generally loafing about and enjoying some extra long walks, which is all splendid.

It got a bit stressful yesterday, though, as me humans took me shopping along Princes Street, Edinburgh's main shopping area.  To be honest Renee went shopping and me and Richard sat outside the shops waiting for her to come out... and that's the bit that got stressful.

So many people wanted to say hello to me.  I even had a lady take some professional photos of me for her doggy website.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a photo shoot but I need time to prepare mentally and physically so I can look me best.  I didn't have time to ruffle me fur so I looked all windswept and ragamuffin like.

Still, I did me best and she went away happy.

If it was down to me I'd have taken more time about me shopping... maybe thought about what I needed, written a list, thought about it more, amended it, re-written it and then maybe get to the shops about mid-May time.

But, no, me humans, who ain't great shoppers, it has to be said, had to do a smash and grab raid.  Although, to be fair they weren't queueing at Next's door at 6.00am in the morning!

Why the desperate rush to do their shopping?

Well, Renee is in the middle of her busiest time, apparently.  Something to do with a Tax Return deadline at the end of January.

Apparently, if you have to complete a Tax Return and you haven't done it yet, you've only got a few days left... until the end of January, in fact.

And if you don't do it on time, the penalties are pretty hefty.  For example, if you are 1 day late there's a fixed fine of £100.  If you're 3 months then it's £100 + £10 per day up to £900.  If you're 6 months late it's all of the above + £300 or 5% of the tax due, whever is higher and if you're 12 months late it's all of the above +£300 or 5% of the tax due but you may be asked to pay 100% of the tax due as a penalty!

Don't quote me on all that, though, I'm just a dog.  If you don't believe me you should have a look here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/deadlines-penalties.htm#3

Wow.

So, Renee is focussed on helping people sort out their tax returns on time, hence the flying visit to the sales.  If you need help, you should come a see her... make sure you ask her to do your tax return and not your shopping, though.