#1Apr 20th, 2010
Taxes are killing us.
#2
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010
I hear now that bank interest rates are going to be raised about 1/2% in June, so I guess we'll have both the Gov't and the Banks $crewing up. I'm also wondering if H.S.T. will be imposed on bank interest. Since H.S.T. is charged on services I suspect interest charges will be renamed "service charges".
#3
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010
Oh yeah,steve was such a hero when he knocked 2% off the gst,something I don't think made a bit of difference since the "middle men'sucked it up by jacking the price of everything up that 2%. NOW that steve and his lackys have got us,what about sixty billion in the hole we;'er going to see higher taxes and more cuts ,but just to stuff that affect the average,low/mid income earner.
#4
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by relic
Oh yeah,steve was such a hero when he knocked 2% off the gst,something I don't think made a bit of difference since the "middle men'sucked it up by jacking the price of everything up that 2%. NOW that steve and his lackys have got us,what about sixty billion in the hole we;'er going to see higher taxes and more cuts ,but just to stuff that affect the average,low/mid income earner.
That is why income tax cut is much fairer than GST cut. In addition to the fact that GST disproportionately favours the rich, GST depends upon the old trickle down economics. The idea is that reward the businesses (or the rich) by cutting GST and they will pass on the savings to the customer. But they are under no obligation to do so; no doubt some of them simply jack up the prices to compensate for it.
And yes, Conservatives have got us the biggest deficit we have ever had, they even topped the second biggest deficit we ever had (not surprisingly, also incurred by a conservative, Mulroney).
#5
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by JLM
Been like this since '68 when the a s s hole was elected PM.I just heard on CBC radio the the fastest escalating cost for Canadians is the tax bill.
#6
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010
The smart ones start up organizations to get government grant money.
#7
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Walter
Except of course, when Mulroney was in power (and excepting of course, the last three and a half years).Been like this since '68 when the a s s hole was elected PM.
#8
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Walter
Congratulations Walter- I generally agree with you on very little, but I have to commend you are this post- I'm going to submit your name for the Pullitzer Prize for Literature. Been like this since '68 when the a s s hole was elected PM.
#9
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010
We got the GST cut, then hubby and I decided we could push it a little further and drop our rate of consumerism down. 
We grow a lot more of our own food, don't drive unless it is carpooling or unless we need to, almost dropped off the grid, and so on. Gov't gets quite a bit less from us than it used to. A lot of it was wasted anyway so now we can put it to good use.
We grow a lot more of our own food, don't drive unless it is carpooling or unless we need to, almost dropped off the grid, and so on. Gov't gets quite a bit less from us than it used to. A lot of it was wasted anyway so now we can put it to good use. #10
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by AnnaG
That's the spirit Anna- I kind of like the old Barter System, it's good in that besides saving you money it makes it tougher for the Gov't. to get their nose into your business. ( I can grow Swiss Chard really good if you wanna grow spuds) We got the GST cut, then hubby and I decided we could push it a little further and drop our rate of consumerism down.
#11
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by JLM
lol Okanagan has better farmland than here. I am sure you can find really good spuds over there. hehehe We grow chard, too. Lovely stuff. We are both greens nuts; spinach, chard, beet greens (beets, too), etc. we love em.That's the spirit Anna- I kind of like the old Barter System, it's good in that besides saving you money it makes it tougher for the Gov't. to get their nose into your business. ( I can grow Swiss Chard really good if you wanna grow spuds)
#13
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Johnnny
And that's just the tip of the iceberg added to P.S.T. G.S.T. Property taxes, tobacco taxes, liquor taxes, 47 different kinds of licenses and permits, taxes on insurance, capital gains taxes. Actually I'm a little skeptical that it's only 42%. Probably more Gov't bullsh*t on that too. Oh yeah there's also about 47 different kinds of fees like on tires, batteries, pop cans juice bottles. I better quit now, I'm getting ready to puke.i get taxed 30% of my cheque
#14
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Liberalman
And the ethical ones try to get funding cut to those smart ones.The smart ones start up organizations to get government grant money.
#15
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by AnnaG
Now that's what I like about more selective taxes like resource taxes and what not. You're actually free to use your imagination to try to find ways around it... legally!We got the GST cut, then hubby and I decided we could push it a little further and drop our rate of consumerism down.
With income taxes, you're screwed no matter what you do.
#16
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010
Having said that, I don't mind moderate income taxes for certain things like education and helping the poor, but that's about it. For pretty well anything else, I tend to lean towards resource taxes so as to encourage us to avoid taxes by reducing consumption.
#17
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Machjo
I kind of like the old system of "user pays" and if you don't think you can afford to pay you buy insurance.Having said that, I don't mind moderate income taxes for certain things like education and helping the poor, but that's about it. For pretty well anything else, I tend to lean towards resource taxes so as to encourage us to avoid taxes by reducing consumption.
#18
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by SirJosephPorter
You're right that the GST is likely less progressive than income taxes. But that can be remedied in various ways. No point throwing the baby out with the bath water. For example, the money collected could focus more on the most vulnerable, or co-determination laws and other such laws can help to redistribute wealth too. The NDP criticized the Greens and Liberals ferociously over the Green shift on the grounds that it would penalize the most vulnerable of Canadians. The Greens and Libs, though acknowledging this weakness, countered that it could be corrected the same way the GST by sending it back to the poorest. It still serves as a means of encouraging saving. I'd say replace the GST with a resource tax and reduce income tax too while we're at it. That way, there's be a natural incentive built into the economy to use our resources more efficiently.That is why income tax cut is much fairer than GST cut. In addition to the fact that GST disproportionately favours the rich, GST depends upon the old trickle down economics. The idea is that reward the businesses (or the rich) by cutting GST and they will pass on the savings to the customer. But they are under no obligation to do so; no doubt some of them simply jack up the prices to compensate for it.
And yes, Conservatives have got us the biggest deficit we have ever had, they even topped the second biggest deficit we ever had (not surprisingly, also incurred by a conservative, Mulroney).
#19
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 20th, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by JLM
I think a resouce tax kind of does that. You want the government to build more roads? No problem; buy more gas and you'll pay more taxes for the government to build more roads. You think the government builds too many roads? no problem; reduce your gas consumption and the government will have less money to build roads with. It would just go hand in hand quite nicely. Besides, the more you drive, the more roads we need and vice versa. If taxes relate to consumption, they won't need to be raised and dropped all the time since they'd naturally flow with the market.I kind of like the old system of "user pays" and if you don't think you can afford to pay you buy insurance.
#20
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Machjo
Yep, I agree with that, same I guess with the G.S.T. and P.S.T. if you don't like paying them don't buy things where that tax is imposed. Income tax is the worst offender and also the hardest and most expensive to collect.I think a resouce tax kind of does that. You want the government to build more roads? No problem; buy more gas and you'll pay more taxes for the government to build more roads. You think the government builds too many roads? no problem; reduce your gas consumption and the government will have less money to build roads with. It would just go hand in hand quite nicely. Besides, the more you drive, the more roads we need and vice versa. If taxes relate to consumption, they won't need to be raised and dropped all the time since they'd naturally flow with the market.
#21
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by JLM
Though in some ways the GST is not so different from income tax since it applies to pretty well everything. As a result, it's no more avoidable than income tax really. The advantage with a resouce tax is that those products services that are less resource dependent will avoid much of that tax while those that are more resource dependent will be more heavily affected by it, as a result the true social cost of the product or service in question will be more apparent, and that way if you can find a way to recycle a resource you could reduce your tax burden significantly. With a wide-sweeping GST, that's harder to do.Yep, I agree with that, same I guess with the G.S.T. and P.S.T. if you don't like paying them don't buy things where that tax is imposed. Income tax is the worst offender and also the hardest and most expensive to collect.
#22
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010
Another thing I wouldn't mind would be for taxes on your personal wealth and income to be charity deductible as much as possible so as to give you more say in how it will go towards benefiting the society.
#23
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Machjo
Yep, tax deductions for contributions to charities is pretty lame. Maybe deductions to charities could be on a sliding scale.......considerable for those to do with feeding, housing and providing medical aid and less for endeavours like saving three toed sloths.Another thing I wouldn't mind would be for taxes on your personal wealth and income to be charity deductible as much as possible so as to give you more say in how it will go towards benefiting the society.
#24
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by JLM
I'm not sure abut that. What's the difference between you giving to a charity to save the three-toed sloths and having the government give to a government department filled with highly paid unionized staff with a mandate of saving the three-toed sloth? You might as well give it yourself.Yep, tax deductions for contributions to charities is pretty lame. Maybe deductions to charities could be on a sliding scale.......considerable for those to do with feeding, housing and providing medical aid and less for endeavours like saving three toed sloths.
#25
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010
This might sound silly, but I spent all night one day to solve this problem. My solution was to raise tax to %75 and have a stimulus package that refunds %25 of the total pot in the government tresurey as a monthly payback stimulus check. What happens is that your first monthly stimulus refund could be as high as $200,000.
It is a rapid money generating sceme that splits the tresurery's pot 50-50 with the people per month.
I got the idea from the U.S. Stimulus Package. They tried the same approach as my theory just backwards taxing $1 for every welfare reciepient in the states, who all got $300 in a stimulus payment. If you divide it up they all made $25 a month on $1 a year tax using this method.
It is a rapid money generating sceme that splits the tresurery's pot 50-50 with the people per month.
I got the idea from the U.S. Stimulus Package. They tried the same approach as my theory just backwards taxing $1 for every welfare reciepient in the states, who all got $300 in a stimulus payment. If you divide it up they all made $25 a month on $1 a year tax using this method.
#26
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010
These are the federal tax rates in Canada. What is paid provincially will vary by province. But I doubt that it adds up to 42%.
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#27
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Machjo
The ethical ones are the special interest groups that everyone complains aboutAnd the ethical ones try to get funding cut to those smart ones.
#28
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by theconqueror
Sounds very much like a Ponzi scheme.................This might sound silly, but I spent all night one day to solve this problem. My solution was to raise tax to %75 and have a stimulus package that refunds %25 of the total pot in the government tresurey as a monthly payback stimulus check. What happens is that your first monthly stimulus refund could be as high as $200,000.
It is a rapid money generating sceme that splits the tresurery's pot 50-50 with the people per month.
I got the idea from the U.S. Stimulus Package. They tried the same approach as my theory just backwards taxing $1 for every welfare reciepient in the states, who all got $300 in a stimulus payment. If you divide it up they all made $25 a month on $1 a year tax using this method.
#29
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010
Actually,I was thinking of something else but don't know if it would work or not.
Let's say you had to give 3% of your income towards helping the poor, 10% to education, and 10% to a cause of your choice, or something along those lines. So, essentially, you could give that 3% 'poor tax' to a charity of your choice as long as it's earmarked towards helping the poor, or you can give it to the government which must then earmark it towards helping the poor. The 10% 'school tax' you could either give to a public school of your choice (by public I don't necessarily mean state-owned,but as long as it it a not-for-profit school that is open to all), or you could just give it to the government to give it to a public school of its choice. And the 10% 'charity tax' you could give to a cause of your choice or to the government to give it to a cause of its choice.
As for any other taxes, the government would limit itself to resource taxes only, thus giving those who do not want to pay that tax the option of avoiding resource consumption as much as possible. They'd likely have to by some on occasion, but at least they'd have some control over it. Beyond that, it could use other kinds of legislation to protect the most vulnerable members of society such as co-determinaiton laws and such.
Such a system would force us to accept our responsibilities towards society but in such a way that we'd also have more of a say in how we shall exercise that responsibility. Right now, the government just takes our money and wastes it however it wants.
Let's say you had to give 3% of your income towards helping the poor, 10% to education, and 10% to a cause of your choice, or something along those lines. So, essentially, you could give that 3% 'poor tax' to a charity of your choice as long as it's earmarked towards helping the poor, or you can give it to the government which must then earmark it towards helping the poor. The 10% 'school tax' you could either give to a public school of your choice (by public I don't necessarily mean state-owned,but as long as it it a not-for-profit school that is open to all), or you could just give it to the government to give it to a public school of its choice. And the 10% 'charity tax' you could give to a cause of your choice or to the government to give it to a cause of its choice.
As for any other taxes, the government would limit itself to resource taxes only, thus giving those who do not want to pay that tax the option of avoiding resource consumption as much as possible. They'd likely have to by some on occasion, but at least they'd have some control over it. Beyond that, it could use other kinds of legislation to protect the most vulnerable members of society such as co-determinaiton laws and such.
Such a system would force us to accept our responsibilities towards society but in such a way that we'd also have more of a say in how we shall exercise that responsibility. Right now, the government just takes our money and wastes it however it wants.
#30
Re: Taxes are killing us.
Apr 21st, 2010Quote: Originally Posted by Johnnny
You mean you pay 30% of your cheque as taxes? That is way too high (unless you have an income well into six figures, even then there are ways to bring your taxes down to below 30%), I don't think you are making use of all the legitimate tax saving devices available.i get taxed 30% of my cheque
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