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ד"סב
Narratives
true Authentic, Realistic & Undeniable
Inspirations challenge: the
generation’s
and Real-Life Concerning our Volume
battle against
technology 165

Chaim G. tured ribbing from his colleagues.
was a sea- “Come on, Chaim,” they laughed. “What do you think?
Honorable Exception soned busi- The tax officers are really not interested in your per-
nessman sonal opinions regarding the internet! They want the
who faith- taxes submitted online and they’re not going to change
fully sub- their minds.”
mitted his Chaim shrugged. He didn’t profess to have an ‘in’
tax information every three months, as the laws in En- with the Tax Department, nor could he predict their re-
gland dictate. Retailers were tasked with calculating action to his strange request. About two weeks elapsed
every tax dollar that they had charged their customers, without any further notifications. The popular belief
and then submitting the complete sum to the Tax De- that ‘no news is good news’ didn’t hold water in this
partment. As an upright citizen, Chaim dutifully com- case. Time was of the essence.
pleted the paperwork and submitted it before the dead- He contacted the Tax Department and was told, “Yes,
line. The system flowed smoothly, four times each sir. We received your written request and it is under re-
year, with no indication that the process would change. view. We submitted the Hebrew text of your rabbinical
One summer he received a notice from the Tax De- document to a legal translator and a final decision is
partment informing him drily that henceforth the taxes pending.”
“…must be submitted online…” and proprietors were “They’re taking me seriously,” Chaim marveled.
urged to make all necessary arrangements before the “They didn’t merely shred my letter to bits, as the others
new regulations went into effect. predicted.”
Chaim was stumped. He had no online access – not by When the response finally arrived, it was as startling
default but by choice. The new regulation had come out as it was concise.
of left field and caught him completely unprepared. In an official memorandum dated July 5th, the HM
This ehrliche businessman immediately procured a Revenue & Customs Tax Firm replied:
copy of a local Beis Din ruling which explains the sig- “…I have reviewed your request to continue filing
nificance of banning internet usage. He submitted this VAT returns on paper, on the grounds that your reli-
copy, along with a respectful letter requesting that he gious beliefs preclude you from filing online…
be permitted to continue filing taxes by post due to his “I can confirm…you are currently not required to file
religious beliefs. He asked that the rabbinical document VAT returns online and you can continue to file on pa-
enclosed should be taken into account before a deci- per. You will continue to receive paper returns.”
sion would be rendered. The entire country has transitioned to online filing,
It was a bold move which elicited some good-na- but this Yid in London remains an honorable exception.

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