◎ 周虹汶
"My tax return was on my yacht ... which caught fire" - just one of the dozens of unusual excuses the British government’s tax collector said it receives each year from customers who fail to complete their returns on time.
「我的報稅表本來在我的遊艇上……它著火了」——不過是英國政府收稅機關每年接獲來自客戶未能準時完成申報的眾多奇特藉口之一。
"A wasp in my car caused me to have an accident and my tax return, which was inside, was destroyed," was another, while several blamed children, partners or colleagues for inadvertently destroying their forms.
「有隻黃蜂在我的車裡，導致我發生事故，而我放在裡頭的報稅表也毀了」，是另一項藉口，還有許多是怪小孩、伴侶或同事無意間破壞了他們的表格。
"It’s easy to see that some excuses for not completing a tax return on time can be more questionable than others," said Ruth Owen, HMRC Director General of Customer Services.
英國稅務海關總署的客戶服務處處長露絲．歐文說：「有些未準時完成報稅的藉口會比其他來得更可疑，很容易分辨。」
"But there will always be help and support available for those who have a genuine excuse for not submitting their return on time," she added in a statement.
她在一份聲明中補充說道：「但總是會有協助和支援，提供給那些真有不能準時提交報表理由的人。」
Generally, taxpayers who self-assess must meet a deadline on Jan. 31 each year to complete their forms and pay outstanding sums.
一般來說，自估申報納稅人每年須在1月31日截止期限前，完成他們的表格，以及支付未清數額。
"My wife helps me with my tax return, but she had a headache for ten days" was one unsuccessful appeal against the HMRC’s penalty for late filing, which starts at 100 pounds. （Reuters）
逾期申報罰鍰從100英鎊起跳，向英國稅務海關總署申訴失敗的案子中，有一件理由是「我的太太一向幫我處理報稅，但她那陣子頭痛了10天」。（路透）
新聞辭典
catch fire：片語動詞，指著火、燃燒。例句：The campaign began to catch fire.（這場運動開始沸騰了。）
inadvertently：副詞，指不經意地。例句：She inadvertently hurt his feeling.（她無意間傷了他的感情。）
outstanding：形容詞，傑出的、顯著的、（債務）未付的、（問題）未解決的。例句：Talks will resume next month to discuss the outstanding issues.（下月將恢復談判，討論尚未解決的問題。）
全通翻譯引用自 http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=1069101&day=2017-01-07
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