殡仪馆来信

A Letter from A Funeral Home


I have been expecting the arrival of a package from Vietnam---the copies of my newly printed book. My editor told me that I should have received it two weeks ago from today's date. However, today, instead of receiving my package delivery notice, I received a letter from a local funeral home. It said that they had learned on July 1, 2016 the GST rate will increase from 13% to 15% in the province where I live in and the taxes payable on funerals will rise with it.

I know that living in Canada you have to pay taxes for many things, but I have never known that I have to pay taxes when I die.

Anyway, the letter advises me to think about planning my funeral, the benefits they offer, and how I might avoid a tax increase. They ask me to contact their knowledgeable staff who are available to answer my questions at no cost and with no obligation.

I have never thought of dying young, but now, after reading this letter, I understand more about life: life is short and death is sure. I may die at any time, who knows? So I guess that to avoid the stressful situation my family will face when the time comes, now I have to work harder to make more money, but the more I work the more I pay taxes...oh, life is not easy.

今天我没等到期待中的包裹，却等来一份某殡仪馆的来信，来信内容大致说从今年七月一号起本省的货劳税从13/100增加到15/100，殡仪馆服务行业的税随之增加，信中建议我与他们联系，洽谈关于我身后的事宜----怎样避税，避免给家人带来负担等，他们有经验的员工会揭诚为我回答问题。关于我的丧礼，我还没想过，也没想过在这个万岁国死了还得交税。 （中文是英语的大概意思，不是中英对照 The English and Chinese contents are not parallel texts）