# 未来へ向けた挑戦（31）確定申告　ー　閉店の二月、税金と私を振り返る　　　(英語版) ー　Final Tax Return

Closing My Shop in February, Reflecting on Taxes and Life


Each year, I have asked a trusted tax accountant to prepare my final tax return.

After retirement, my income became modest, but my husband and I continued filing together.
Eventually, I began receiving a pension, and it became my primary source of income.

—I was surprised to learn that even pension income requires a tax return.

And now, this February, I am closing my small self-run shop.

Will this be my final tax return?
Or will I earn a little again through part-time work in Matsuyama?

On an unusually warm February afternoon, sitting in the accountant’s office, I found myself reflecting on the years behind me.

A distant memory surfaced.

While receiving acupuncture treatment for facial nerve paralysis, I gave birth to my second child.
I took one year of childcare leave.

That year, I went to the tax office to apply for a medical expense deduction.

The staff member explained gently:

“If you did not pay income tax that year, you are not eligible for a deduction.”

Now I understand what that meant.
A refund simply returns taxes that have already been paid.

But at the time, I felt shocked.
And embarrassed.

It felt as though I had been told I was someone who “hadn’t paid.”

In reality, my taxes had always been withheld automatically from my salary.
I simply did not fully understand how the system worked.

What is a final tax return, really?
What does it mean to pay taxes?

To work.
To contribute.
To receive.

All of it is quietly woven into the fabric of a life.

This February, I close my shop.

It is an ending.
And also the beginning of another question.

In the warm winter light, I organize my documents and think about what lies ahead.



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