Chapter 28 - Tax, Impromptu Gig, Surprise

December 27, 2010. It was already 1pm when Tayaw arrived back in Ouigab with Payew and Agew for a two day visit. Despite being a minor, Tayaw's parents actually allowed him to bring his brothers with him when he asked them. Tayaw with his age, and how long he's been driving in his current life only holds a restricted driver's license. Because of this, he is not legally allowed to drive any immediate family member under the age of 18. This shows how much Kilat and Liboo trust Tayaw. Tayaw's purpose of visit to Ouigab is to pay his taxes and play in the city with his brothers. Before starting his business in Ouigab, they had lunch at a restaurant of Agew's choosing

After lunch, they headed to Tayaw's apartment to print out all the sales report Topaz gave Tayaw, and drove to Ouigab's Internal Revenue Beaureu to report his income in the last six months and pay his taxes. He did not leave Payew and Agew in his apartment just to be safe.

He forgot to consider his taxes because in his previous life, it's the construction enterprise that he worked for that withhold the taxes in his income and pay his income tax on his behalf. He was in the same situation in his current life with the online tutorial company. Being self-employed to him is foreign.

"Wanna come inside with me? It's a boring office though." Tayaw asked his brothers. "I'd rather stay here, bro." Payew said. "I wanna go." Agew on the other hand, wanted to look. "I can't leave you here alone Payew, come with us. It won't take long anyway; you can play with my phone." Tayaw told Payew. Payew just gave a stink eye to Agew, who just ignored it, before nodding.

After entering inside, the two younger brothers felt overwhelmed by the crowded office. Payew got over it quickly and started playing Tayaw's phone. Agew meanwhile, was silently observing the office and the office workers. Seeing his brothers settle themselves on a bench beside the entrance, Tayaw went to do his thing.

After he paid his taxes, the three came out of the Tax Office after spending 30 minutes in it. Payew and Agew excitedly entered the pickup truck. Tayaw, on the other hand, was shell-shocked. Out of the 400000BGC gross income he reported, he paid a total of 32% amounting to 128000BGC. "hOlY sH*T! No wonder rich people always avoid taxes. Jesus Christ." Tayaw cursed out loud as he slammed the door of his pick-up truck.

"Man, what's wrong?" Payew asked, surprised at Tayaw's outburst. "No. Nothing. I just paid huge in tax." Tayaw replied. "Well? How much was it?" Payew, still not mature enough to ask things about money, innocently asked. Tayaw found Payew's directness hilariously fresh and calmed down a lot. "Well, see that car over there? I could buy three of those with the tax money I just paid." Tayaw said as he pointed at a 2007 Honda Civic. "YOU'RE RICH!!!" Payew exclaimed. "A little. If people don't buy my books, I will become poor again. That's why mom and dad are always telling me to save." Tayaw replied. "Why pay then?" Agew cut in. Tayew started the driving to their next stop while explaining to them how taxes work and why people pay them.

In his previous life, when he peaked at earning 250000 BGC a year, the taxes he paid is also 30% of his gross income, he just did not pay directly and the company did it for him so he didn't realize how large 30% of income was. This time, he watched as his tax was computed and personally cut and transferred 128,000BGC away from his bank account that he really felt the sting. Thankfully in Teungeb, people are only taxed on their income tax up to 32% unlike other countries where the tax rate progresses even up to 47% or else he would pay more than just 32%. Still, he could not get it out of his head how large 32% income tax really is for someone who earns big. If for example, he became the CEO of a company who gets paid 2,000,000BGC a year, he will pay 640,000BGC in taxes if he's single with no tax deductibles and will only keep 1,360,000BGC for himself.

They drove next to a bank for Tayaw to open college funds for his brothers. The college funds he started each contained 100,000BGC and with the interest rate of .25%, the funds will grow an average of 2,000BGC each year after taxes. This is the bare minimum of the recommended amount of starting a college fund, but he can always add more in the future. With this final expense, Tayaw's savings was wiped out and left with only 18,000BGC in his own savings account. Despite this, he felt more relaxed as he finally felt that his brothers' futures will be smoother.

At 3PM, the trio went back to Tayaw's apartment to take a rest. They just did a 5-hour travel and visited two offices so they felt spent. After napping for an hour and a half, the trio went out to a snack bar for a quick recharge. While eating in the snack bar, Tayaw noticed the deserted tables, definitely a result of students going home to their hometowns for the holidays. This gave Tayaw an idea. He took his phone from Agew and called Rudy.

"Hello Sir. Are you guys open tonight?" Tayaw asked. "We are. Although it's Monday, we were closed during the Christmas day so we have to catch up tonight. Why?" Rudy explained. "Do you have open spots for tonight?" Tayaw asked hoping for a vacant spot. "Yes! We were actually planning on opening at 7pm because we only have 4 performers tonight out of the usual 6 and we expect fewer customers too. Are you available?" Rudy was glad that Tayaw can come. "Yes. But I'm bringing my little brothers. One's 14, one's 11. I wanna show them what's up." Tayaw said, hoping that Rudy will allow his brothers in the bar. "It's okay. Just this once, alright? The servers will have fewer things to do so I can ask them or even Rocky to look after your brothers while you perform." Rudy accepted Tayaw's request.

"Who was that?" Payew asked after overhearing parts of the phone call. "It's a friend. Do you guys know where I like to have fun sometimes?�� Tayaw replied and lured his brothers to go with him to the bar. "Is it cool?" Agew asked. "I think so. You'll know when we get there." Tayaw replied. "Sure. It's boring in your apartment anyway." Payew also wanted in. They then strolled back to the apartment and picked up Tayaw's guitar and stomp box and drove to ROH Factory.

It was already quarter to 6pm when Tayaw parked his pick-up truck in a vacant spot in front of the bar. Tayaw noticed that the bar's main door is actually already open. Tayaw figured that Rudy probably decided to open early because of him. The trio entered the bar and Tayaw left his brothers in the care of the bartender by the bar counter while he went backstage to talk to Rudy. "Boss. Why does it seem like your customers are early." Tayaw asked Rudy when he noticed that there are already around forty people in the bar room when he walked in the bar. "Oh! You're playing the stomp box this time? Good good. About the customers, I actually was not expecting it either. Only two minutes after we opened the doors, a group already walked in." Rudy explained. "So, who's performing tonight?" The two talked before Tayaw headed out into the stage to begin his gig.

Meanwhile, in the bartender's counter, Payew is talking to the bartender while Agew is playing with Tayaw's phone. A minute later, the bartender suddenly pointed at the stage. "Oh. That's your brother." The bartender said to Payew and Agew. They turned around and were surprised to see Tayaw go up the stage and plug in his instruments. They could only watch as Tayaw started plucking his guitar and already began his introductions which he had not done since October. "Good evening folks. Belated Merry Christmas to you all. Are you all enjoying your holidays?" Tayaw asked the crowd as a warm up which the crowd responded with a soft but polite applause. "Good. Some of you might recognize me, but to our new patrons, I'm Tayaw, your opening act tonight. I actually have decided to take a break from playing here for a while, but when I heard from the owner that you guys are here tonight despite the holidays; I just had to come to see. I have not practiced in a while too, so I need your support." Tayaw said as he pleased with stage bullcrap. It was however, to his intention, received warmly as they clapped for him once again.

"Tonight's line-up will consist of yours truly, followed by … " as Tayaw was introducing himself and the next performers, Payew and Agew who were initially surprised are now looking at Tayaw in pride as they watch him interact with a supportive and cooperative crowd. "… So sit back, relax, and have a few drinks as the ROH Factory makes music for you tonight." After a few strums and a sudden stop, Tayaw finally ended his introduction and was replied with a round of applause from the crowd who felt welcomed by Tayaw's introduction.

Tayaw then looked at the bar counter to see his brothers watching him with undivided attention. Satisfied with this, Tayaw once again started plucking his guitar as an intro to his first song. However, he did not sing immediately but interacted more with the crowd. "We know it's the holidays, but aren't you all tired of hearing Christmas songs all the time?" Tayaw asked which the crowd unexpectedly responded to enthusiastically. "Okay. I did not expect that honesty. I guess I'm throwing the Christmas songs I prepared then." Tayaw showed an exaggerated disappointment which the crowd was amused at. "Anyway, I see a lot of couples in the crowd tonight, so my first song will be for you." Tayaw said as he finally began singing.

Meanwhile in the backstage, Rudy is very satisfied with how Tayaw is stretching his set. He is still short of 1 performer so he has to extend each performer's gig by 10 minutes each to last the line-up until midnight. He did not see the usual improvisation and adlibs that usually excites him in Tayaw's sets but he very much enjoyed Tayaw's new sound with the addition of the stomp box in his repertoire.

After the gig, Tayaw brought his two agitated brothers to a restaurant for dinner, ignoring his brothers' questions while driving on the way. After ordering their food, Tayaw's eyes were attracted by the waitress' curvy h.i.p.s and perky bottom who was walking back to submit their orders. His appreciation was cut when Payew suddenly spoke. "When did you become a rock star?" Payew asked in excitement. Agew was also looking at him in anticipation. "What rock star? I'm just a bar musician. I have been doing it since September after my teaching job was over." Tayaw explained. "You sang like a famous singer though. You weren't that good back in Okuba." Payew was insistent. "I practiced a lot for a month. Remember I left Okuba in July? I was practicing hard while teaching." Tayaw replied with an on the spot lie. "One month is not enough right?" Payew was not buying it. "Well, I also practiced hard in October, November and before I went home for Christmas. I���m better now than I was in September." Tayaw took a sung at Payew's question. "It's still not enough though! I also play the guitar and I have no idea how to play like you did." Strike one, Payew was getting frustrated at Tayaw's answers and pitched a non-question question. "Fine. I was already practicing HARD ever since middle school, okay?" Tayaw swung once more at the pitch. "I didn't see you practice." Agew cut in giving Tayaw two strikes. "I was hiding it from mom and dad. I know they will get mad if I don't study." Tayaw swung with a powerful but risky lie. Payew and Agew who are still in the age where they are scared of consequences from their parents, understood and took the bait. Tayaw knocked the final pitch of questions out of the park.

"So before I knew it, I became really good. Also, underage people like us are not allowed in bars, so please don't tell mom and dad, alright?" Tayaw said while happily running the bases in his mind..