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In Canada, there is a value-added tax called the GST (goods and services tax). It is currently 5% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Most businesses are required to register for GST, charge their customers GST and remit the collected tax to the govt.

If you are a small business (less than $30k annual revenue), you are not obligated to register.

BUT, there are some exceptions: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bs...

Taxi drivers authorized by provincial law (which is all of them) always had to register, regardless of sales volume.

Uber drivers, like any other business, always had to register if they had more than $30k annual revenue.

This new law treats uber drivers like taxi drivers and forces them to register, charge and remit GST.

The part that is very interesting (to a tax pro) is that the govt of Quebec legalized uber last year, which meant that Quebec uber drivers were obligated to register, charge and remit GST. Did they? If not, they are in for a world of hurt when they file their taxes...

Sorry, Uber is a cab company, no matter what they say.

I'm not a fan of Uber but I'm not certain this is true, in my understanding a typical cab will drive around looking for random people to wave it down and potentially wait at certain high pickup locations.

An Uber (or Lyft) vehicle will only respond to a request from the webapp, it strikes me as more analogous to a Limo service or other hired vehicle. Are those considered taxis? (not rhetorical, I'm actually curious. For tax purposes it appears they are).

I live in a city in the Midwest, and have traveled for work to many other cities in the Midwest. Nigh universally, there is no such thing as a taxi that drives around looking for fares. You call a taxi company, or use their website, to request a taxi be dispatched to your location.

Rarely, in some cities, there are designated areas called "taxi stands" located in or near neighborhoods with a high density of bars. Taxis can sometimes be found idling there, waiting for inebriated folks to stumble their way. This is far from a ubiquitous practice, and even where the taxi stands exist, generally only contain taxis on Friday and Saturday nights.

Perhaps taxis continually circle or wait around high-traffic locations in very large cities. However, even on my trips to Chicago, I've seen only the dispatch request model.

Sorry, Uber is a cab company, no matter what they say.

I'm not a fan of Uber but I'm not certain this is true, in my understanding a typical cab will drive around looking for random people to wave it down and potentially wait at certain high pickup locations.

An Uber (or Lyft) vehicle will only respond to a request from the webapp, it strikes me as more analogous to a Limo service or other hired vehicle. Are those considered taxis? (not rhetorical, I'm actually curious. For tax purposes it appears they are).

Canada has a General Tax Avoidance Law that is designed for this very thing (at least on paper). If the Canada Revenue Agency thinks that you are doing a whole bunch of transactions just to avoid taxes, you get hit with the taxes anyway.

They changed the process a few years ago. The WAC doesn't change every year anymore and they do not mail it to you. So it might not be as secure as it used to be.

Source: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/webac...

Not exactly true, most countries have a "tax on foreign income" requirement.

Here (Canada) we have this: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nd...

The question becomes how much of the "income" was earned in the US vs what is "foreign" and earned by the foreign entity?

Isn't apple known for paying large royalties to its "IP Owner" which is a small two man operation in Ireland? In which case Apple USA never makes any money because Apple Ireland has a large royalty fee.

If you want to "fix" this, tax corporate income the same way you tax individuals income.

It is a Canada Revenue Agency Disability Tax Credit as Asperger's Syndrome is a recognized disability.

According to the statement on the CRA web site, it was security agencies that told the CRA that 900 SINs were stolen:

Regrettably, the CRA has been notified by the Government of Canada's lead security agencies of a malicious breach of taxpayer data that occurred over a six-hour period. Based on our analysis to date, Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) of approximately 900 taxpayers were removed from CRA systems by someone exploiting the Heartbleed vulnerability. We are currently going through the painstaking process of analyzing other fragments of data, some that may relate to businesses, that were also removed.

So, are the security agencies monitoring traffic to government web sites, so that they are so specific? What else are they monitoring?

Also can be phoned in.

No, Telefile was discontinued last year.

Just curious - why not? Is there something inherent in providing services that makes it inappropriate to levy sales taxes on them? I'm sure income taxes are collected on the same services - why would sales taxes be unexpected? Is there a historical reason for it not to be common? In Canada, the GST (a VAT) is required to be charged by most service providers, unless you're selling less than $30k per year of taxable services. So yes, musicians and lawyers need to charge and remit tax for their services if they earn more than $30k/year. A bit more likely with the Lawyer than the musician. :) Dentists and some other professions do not, List of exemptions: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/gnrl/txbl/xmptgds-eng.html. The rules for provincial sales tax vary in each jurisdiction of course.

A 3% charge is likely less than the cost of dealing with cash. It must be counted, moved to the bank, change must be brought back to the store and so on. It is also easy lost or stolen.

Lets not pretend CCs offer no value to the store.

All true. I think the benefit of cash for the merchant is that it's easier to under report.

One of the reasons I like using my CC (in addition to making it easier for me to track my spending) is that it makes it more difficult for the vendor to avoid reporting. I want my vendor to pay all those taxes and I want my wait-staff to report their tip earnings, and pay the taxes due thereby. Gotta keep that national deficit under control, eh?

One thing I find slightly funny is when someone says to me - "Hey - do you want to commit a crime with me? If you can pay me in cash, I won't charge you the sales tax. That way I can not report it as income, and thus avoid paying at least 30% while still being able to deduct all of my business expenses from the income that I do report. Oh yeah, and that will remove your ability to sue me for bad service or not actually doing the work, or any complaint really."

Actually they usually just say: "No tax if you pay in cash" and leave the rest "understood".

I usually respond with "How often do you think the average person informs on tax cheats via http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/nvstgtns/lds/menu-eng.html ? I have used it a few times, it is oddly satisfying."

Actually I usually just say "No, I don't think so." and leave the rest "understood".

I can't for the of me figure out what exactly the fuck I'm supposed to do when it's not converted into CAD, and have just been writing down the USD amount .

My friend has a Canadian business that gets some USD income that gets deposited to a USD account in a Canadian bank. That income is converted at the average exchange rate for the quarter. For individuals, I believe you just use the annual average (I don't have USD income, but am a dual US/Canadian citizen and have to file to the IRS, and use CRA's average rate in reverse to report my CAD income in USD).

See the CRA's web page for more details.

In Canada, the rule is that if the employees don't pay a reasonable charge for a meal then it's a taxable benefit: Subsidized meals
You don't pay EI premiums (employment insurance) on it but you deduct pay income tax and CPP premiums (Canada Pension Plan). If they only sporadically work overtime then providing meals for those times isn't taxable.

Yeah, it's a common lie in the US that we have "high taxes" when we have low taxes, especially on the rich.

Unless math has changed recently, both 33% and 35% are > 29%.

2011 Tax Computation Worksheet—Line 44

At least $100,000 but not over $174,400 = 28% rate
Over $174,400 but not over $379,150 = 33% rate
Over $379,150 $ = 35% rate

U.S. corporate tax rate: No. 1 in the world

According to the Canada Revenue Agency my total federal income tax rate based upon my income would be roughly 18%. Compare that to the 25% marginal rate tax bracket that I fall into in the US.

What the fuck Congress?

Oh, and don't forget that the government tax load in Canada is more like 70% of your income. That is what it is going to take here as well, if not more. With the local taxes and state taxes added in you may find yourself getting 10% of your gross pay as take-home.

I was with you up until here.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/fq/txrts-eng.html

So worst case scenario (where you're making over $150,000/yr in Nova Scotia -- where you can live comfortably on $50,000/yr), you're paying around 36% total in income taxes and 10% sales tax. Most people are paying closer to 28% income tax and 12% sales tax.

Even if you had to pay sales tax on everything you earned/payed out and were the richest Canadian living in the worst possible location, you'd only be paying 60% of your money to the government -- and this implies you're making 4 figures or more (hint, you likely have enough money to have a team of accountants find you all sorts of tax dodges so you don't have to pay more than around 28%).

After deferred savings/donations/various rebates, I think 25% is a more average actual taxation level in Canada 1/4 of income, not 3/4 to 9/10.

And yet the medical system still functions. The only reason people think it's failing is that all the baby boomers are getting old and dying, so both the US and Canada are suddenly losing a significant portion of the population controlling the wealth of the nations year-over-year.

Hey... I have family members happily living healthy productive lives in their 90's thanks to Canadian Medicare, as well as relatives who are dealing with conditions that would have impoverished them had they lived in the US -- and they're still giving back to society through both taxes and increasing GDP.

If the government is giving pubic $ to companies for research, then the results of the research should be public. Anything else is corporate welfare. Plain and simple.

There are many large organizations in Canada that utilize the SR&ED http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/txcrdt/sred-rsde/menu-eng.html that offsets various project costs, but I don't see any publication of what knowledge was gained or discoveries were made.

You're going to need to back that one up. I believe Canada does the same thing.

False. Canada taxes its residents. Canada does not tax its citizens, unless they are also residents of Canada.

Read the explanation from the Canada Revenue Agency:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/cmmn/rsdncy-eng.html

If you want a more detailed explanation of how your residence is determined for tax reasons, you should read Interpretation Bulletin IT-221, Determination of an Individual's Residence Status:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it221r3-consolid/it221r3-consolid-e.html

So I'm afraid I don't think what you say is true.

ME TOO!!!

You're going to need to back that one up. I believe Canada does the same thing.

False. Canada taxes its residents. Canada does not tax its citizens, unless they are also residents of Canada.

Read the explanation from the Canada Revenue Agency:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/cmmn/rsdncy-eng.html

If you want a more detailed explanation of how your residence is determined for tax reasons, you should read Interpretation Bulletin IT-221, Determination of an Individual's Residence Status:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it221r3-consolid/it221r3-consolid-e.html

So I'm afraid I don't think what you say is true.

ME TOO!!!

I'm in canada, the government gives (/gave) me student tax credits for housing that can be carried forward.

Ummm, no, not for housing.

Students in Canada can deduct tuition, education & textbooks, and in some cases moving expenses & child care. Details here:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/sgmnts/stdnts/ddctns-eng.html

If you're in Ontario and you live in a university residence, the provincial govt caps your property tax deduction on provincial income tax at $25, but that's different.

Last paycheck I brought home was 3200 in gross, with 1100 in income tax, with another 600 and change gone in various provincial taxes and 300 or so in UI and CPP, I know I'm missing a lot. Though there was a lot of overtime involved because of christmas/new years. My net was around $1300 for the week.

$3200/wk gross puts you at ca. $166k/yr.

This on $166k/yr, your overall federal income tax should be $28,020 + (166,000 - 132,406)*0.29 = $37,762.26. Or $726/wk, not $1100.

I'm in the middleclass bracket 52-74k/yr. But that's a lot of money to lose in one week.

So let's use the same table at $74k/yr. That means your federal income tax should be 6,406 + (74,000 - 42,707)*0.22 = $13,290.46, or $256/wk.

Something here doesn't add up.

Add to that the fact that here in Canada, an employee of a company is not allowed to treat the cost fo a computer as a business expense (for tax purpoes), and the reduction in salary experienced by the employee is even greater than the benefit received by the employer.

Actually, Canadian tax law says that almost all expenses incurred by an employee and not reimbursed by their employer are not deductible, even if they are related to their job.

There are some exceptions, such as if the employer requires the employee to maintain an office at home and doesn't reimburse the employee. In this case, the employer can fill out form T2200.

If your position requires you to maintain a professional designation required by law (such as a chartered accountant), those fees are deductible if not reimbursed by the employer.

There are a few others, but employees in Canada get very few tax breaks.

Slightly more? You quoted the tax rates for Quebec, Ontario, and BC. Quebec is 50% higher than next-door neighbor Ontario, (and the tax actually kicks in at a lower rate), and more than 3x the rate of British Columbia.

Couple that with the lower average income in Quebec, because of 40 years of provincial anti-english sentiment chasing out most of the head offices, and it's a disaster.

Oh, and the provincial sales taxe, which went up 1% to 8% January 1st, are going up another 1% next January 1st.

Also, your "omeone earning minimum wage in Alberta is paying 2x that of anyone else in the country " is a flat-out lie, Alberta exempts the first $16,825 of income from ANY provincial income tax.

Now, when go to spend that money, Alberta's provincial sales tax is 0%. Quebec - as of January 1st, will be 9.975% (because they also tax the 5% federal sales tax - a tax on tax).

Also, Alberta gives much more generous deductions for people with a disability, or caring for someone at home, etc. Add to that that the average Alberta income is more than 2-1/2 times the average Quebec income, and Quebec sucks.

Quebec is the most corrupt province in Canada. Where do you think all those scum telemarketers operated from? Quebec - because Quebec's political class has been engaged in economic warfare against its' citizens for almost 40 years..

Disclosure: I'm a certified accountant. It is not true that buying a computer is tax deductible. A computer is normally a capital expense. It is purchased and then depreciated over the useful life of the asset to emulate "using up" the asset over time. While this does reduce profits to the corporation and thus normally reduces their tax bill, saying that a computer is tax deductible is not true for businesses of any size under normal circumstances.

Well, if we're picking nits, any depreciating asset IS tax deductible - over time.

While the useful life of the asset is generally used for internal accounting purposes, for tax purposes it's not always relevant. (For those following along at home, businesses track depreciation on their own books using generally accepted accounting principles, but deduct depreciation expenses on their tax returns based on current tax codes.)

In this decade alone, the Canada Revenue Agency has placed computer hardware in four different asset classes with 30%, 45%, 55%, and 100% depreciation rates. Right now, computer purchases fall into a special class (class 52) which even waives the usual half year rule.

So, a computer is a 100% tax writeoff in year one, but still gets treated as a capital asset. I'd call that tax deductible. :)

I know it is a slashdot pass time to make fun of strange patents like this but it is worth noting that there are government incentives (beyond the patent itself) to do something like this. In Canada, at least, there are programs like SR & ED

Applying for these tax incentives can often lead to outrageous descriptions of basic things. Each employee is asked to say what they worked on this year and to fill in a lengthy form describing what is new about it. A programmer that designs an options menu might actually be working on "A graphical interface that allows a user to list, navigate and manipulate system configuration parameters." I think the idea is that if you make the description dense enough the bureaucrat reading it will just approve it without thinking about it too much.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/fq/txrts-eng.html

Highest tax rate in Canada according to this is 29% (on income over 127K canadian). Highest provincial tax rate quoted there was 17.5% on income over 62k. That makes 46.6% (presuming both are taken on the gross wages). The lowest rates are roughly 15% federal, 5% provincial giving 20% on the gross.

Where exactly do you get 40-60 percent from? I also doubt the 'word of your friend living in the UK' - I lived there for years and had the fastest service I've ever seen, never a question of whether I needed anything. From surgery to consultation was scheduled in short order and delivered on time. Moving to the US healthcare has been a nightmare, having to fight the provider for every test, procedure etc that my doctor tells me I should have.

So, basically, you're full of shit.

FYI: They're a registered charity in Canada.

Even though they shell out a lot of money for these contracts, we almost never actually get to use them. As a developer, when I've had DB2 problems and tried to get assistance, even though my area has bought the requisite contract, when we try and pursue getting some assistance, we get stonewalled within the agency. We can never actually get back to the vendor to get the support we need. The one time I have heard of an area managing to get support, a contractor was hired and brought in (not the vendor). So we have these massive support contracts that aren't used.

I work for them too, previously IT, now development.

Heavier liability laws won't do much for us. However being able to take responsibility for things within the government would go a long way. The biggest problem I've seen with our hierarchy is that no one, not one soul, is willing to stand up and take responsibility for anything. As a result of that, nothing gets done. If a vendor can't or won't fix something, the solution isn't to shrug and say it can't be done, but to work around the problem.

We have better development environments and testing methods than ever.

And this is _not_ the result of strong-arm legislation, it's the result of completely open development processes and personal responsibility.

Being able to 'go on the web and use a community website' won't cut it.

Except that this is exactly how we got the better tools in the first place.

Before anything was loaded, including patches and updates, onto a server or laptop it was tested to see how it would 'react' with some of our software.

Actually, that's not precisely true. Yes we do 'certify' our hardware and software in house, however, it is largely not tested. It is just evaluated based on it's described merits against the requirements that need to be met. Thinking that it is tested is a misunderstanding common amongst the regional IT support teams. (One that I was subject to as well until I managed to corner a certifier one day and find out what the deal was).

-- AC

P.S. Yes I'm aware of the irony of talking about personal responsibility and posting AC <sigh>.

Well bully for you. I on the other hand make a whooping ~$30,000 and between income/social security/medicare and state/local taxes I'm paying nearly 30% of my income out in taxes.

You should move to Canada. The federal tax rate on the first 38k is only 15%. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/fq/txrts-eng.html I haven't looked up provincial rates, but I kind of doubt they are higher than the federal rate. They seem to be making up the difference by having a federal sales tax (~12% combined federal and provincial, depending).

Windows XP costs If Microsoft really is making 75% margins, given most OS sales are discounted OEM sales, $5 is probably not far off form the actual cost.

I just wrote a post below about tax brackets and rates, and it just so happens that I'm a dual US-Canadian citizen, living and working in Canada now but most of life was in the US. Out of curiosity I wanted to compare US vs. Canadian income tax rates, I was surprised to find that Canadian income tax rates are slightly lower across the board than the US.

Canada 2009:
- 15% on the first $38,832 of taxable income, +
- 22% on the next $38,832 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $38,832 and $77,664), +
- 26% on the next $48,600 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $77,664 and $126,264), +
- 29% of taxable income over $126,264.

US 2008:
- 10% of $0 to $8,025
- 15% of $8,025 to $32,550
- 25% of $32,550 to $78,850
- 28% of $78,850 to $164,550
- 33% of $164,550 to $357,700
- 35% of $357,700 and up

The US figures do not count FICA which is 6.2% up to $102,000. My additional taxes on my Canadian payroll check do not come close to matching FICA plus other non-Federal taxes that I paid in the US.

The place where I feel overtaxed in Canada in comparison to the US is not on my income, but with the GST/PST, and the slew of fuel, booze, etc., etc., taxes which contribute overall to higher cost of living here.

The other reason is that for government sites that used to only post support for Internet Explorer and Netscape like this one: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/formspubs/help/adobenotice-e.html, I can see them mentioning Firefox, which will be good for Firefox. Do you see in the text that mentions Netscape, denying Firefox its rightful place?

Not sure what the parent said that set you off but don't forget that large cities are still growing. Encouraging cities in more hospitable climates to grow would reduce the amount of energy needed to heat and cool them. You don't have to move everybody who lives in a cold place to make a difference, just encourage growth in those warmer places. Of course the problem then becomes one of political boundaries - NYC wouldn't be happy if there were a federal tax incentive to encourage people to leave for Atlanta.

On a related note, in Canada we have a tax deduction called the Northern Residents deductions. This could really be seen as a way of encouraging people to use more energy.

and sold as a way to tax out-of-area people,

the sales tax encourages saving

That article doesn't says "The average Canadian family pays about 48 percent of its income in taxes each year", which is different matter entirely from the "almost 50% income tax" that you suggest. I can only assume that this estimate also includes property taxes and sales taxes, because it clearly isn't true for federal and provincial income tax:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/taxra tes-e.html
http://www.taxtips.ca/tax_rates.htm

"Canada's claim to fame is that it is "perceived" to be universal. And it is sort of if you overlook the regional approvals that go on. Often based on age and are you paying taxes."

um, what?
That is simply not correct. You are either mistaken or simply lying.

There is no connection between an individual's tax status and their health care in Canada. (see Canada Health Act section 10 'Universality' http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/C-6/bo-ga: s_7//en#anchorbo-ga:s_7 )
For your mother to be given different care because she isn't paying taxes would be in violation of several laws.

If you really think your mother was given inferior care because she is on cpp and not paying taxes then call the police and the media right now. I'm serious.

Not only is it illegal to deny or delay care to an individual based on their income or taxes it is also illegal for the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) to divulge an individual's tax status to anyone in the health care system. Even the police need a subpoena to see your tax information.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/newsroom/factsheets/2005/ nov/fs051110-e.html

I'll not bother to debunk the rest of the ridiculous assertions you made in that post as this one item clearly shows that you are trolling.
Besides, trying to interpret your writing is giving me a headache. I really hope english is not your first language or that you were drunk/high when you wrote that text.

For reference:
from: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/taxra tes-e.html

Canada's federal income tax rate is:
        * 15.5% on the first $37,178 of taxable income, +
        * 22% on the next $37,179 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $37,178 and $74,357), +
        * 26% on the next $46,530 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $74,357 and $120,887), +
        * 29% of taxable income over $120,887.

Provincial income taxes range from ~5-15%.

There is also a 6% federal sales tax and generally a 6-7% provincial sales tax as well.

"I just hope they get it sorted out before I'm ready to file. I don't want to fill out a paper form. This is the 21st Century after all. Besides, I wouldn't even know where to get a paper form."

If you don't want to download it from here, then pick up a package at any post office. They've been there every year for at least twenty one years (and probably much longer). You must be very young, new to Canada, or both.

This CBC article says that over the weekend they performed 20 maintenance operations that cause this.

Their web site says that they traced the source of the problem to software maintenance conducted on March 4, 2007.

In other words, feel free to write off whatever the hell you want this year, because you officially have plausible deniability.

Not quite, according to their update:

• If you have already filed your income tax return electronically, the CRA will be able to determine whether the filing of your return was affected by this problem.

(I know, the post was supposed to be funny)

Where did you get 50% income tax? Even at the highest tax bracket, Ontario taxes are 40%. Other provinces do approach 50% but remember taxes are tiered -- tax rate from 0 - ~$35,000 is 28% (in Ontario). Even if you make a million, you only pay 28% on the first $35,000. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/taxra tes-e.html

We Canadians are the most heavily taxed of North America, but who are we compared to? The US (which is known for lower taxes) and MEXICO. Compare it to the world -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Canada (yeah I know you can't really trust Wiki, but it should be ballpark).

Our gas is cheaper than in Europe. Healthcare is good, but long wait times unless it's life threatening. The US healthcare is shit, only if you have lots of money do you get good immediate healthcare. Don't even bother comparing education between the US and Canada! Sales tax is high, liquor tax is high, roads are crap. Overall we do pay more taxes, but we do have some benefits too.

Are you confusing "poor" and "poverty," or am I?

Good question: according to Answers poverty is: the state of being poor.

Thank you for your more static definition of poverty. You see, the level I was using was the concept of "living below the poverty line" where that line was 10k this year and 5k a decade ago. This concept of the poverty line is the one oft-quoted by news pundits or people pushing social security agendas.

Now point #2 is not perfectly static b/c housing requirements would vary dramatically between say Alaska and Miami, but the definition does include the concept of privacy. But hey, this stuff is good, this is stuff that can be measured. I really appreciate the reply, b/c most people don't care to even think about this stuff.

Now given that I live in balmy Winnipeg, I'll nitpick your list and add the requirement for adequate clothing (big deal out here, $100 winter jackets are not for show).

Given all of this info, I think that we'll actually reduce this conversation to something with a political bend (which makes this an opinion/ideological debate, rather than a debate about definitions). I'll warn you that I'm of the conservative bend.

The minimum wage in my region is $7.60 or about USD $6.61 (actually higher than the US minimum wage). At 40 hrs/week, that's just over about 15k, after standard income taxes that's about 12k/year or 1k/month. Now, in Winnipeg, a basic 2 bedroom apartment costs $700/month, and I'd like to assume that having a room-mate offers "the possibility for privacy", so all we'd really need to provide is schooling (free to 12th grade in Canada) and health care (free in Canada, drugs not included). So that leaves our minimum wage employee about $650/month (paying half the rent) to make food and clothes.

So clearly, with that money, this person is not poor by your definitions. Heck, with this money they could apply for a reduced-rate pass at the local Y, pay for a monthly bus pass (now tax-deductible) and even be well-entertained between the library and activities at the Y. In fact this minimum-wage employee, working full time, could ostensibly live a pretty healthy life. And let's not forget, that they won't stay at minimum forever, currently minimum wage (in Manitoba) is set to go up again in April (to $8/hour), but it's already irrelevant b/c we're at 3.5% unemployment, so nobody really makes minimum wage. All you really need to do is show up to work every day, do an adequate job and you'll get regular pay increases, so even minimum can be viewed as a short term issue.

Now, this issue changes a little when a kid arrives, but even a single parent is not without recourse in Canada. The government provides a Canada Child Tax Benefit (on a sliding scale) and Manitoba has the Manitoba Shelter Benefit for families, there is a GST Tax Credit, there are CRISP benefits and even childcare (daycare) subsidies. Of course, in single parent situations, the "missing" parent is expected to pay child support. If that "missing" parent has died, the government will help replace that income using Canada pension plan benefits, to the tune of about $200/month. As a bonus, if you need childcare to be able to work, those childcare costs are tax-deductible (whatever parts are not already subsidized). The system only scales out to a few of children, but if you have 4 kids, no partner and a

Are you confusing "poor" and "poverty," or am I?

Good question: according to Answers poverty is: the state of being poor.

Thank you for your more static definition of poverty. You see, the level I was using was the concept of "living below the poverty line" where that line was 10k this year and 5k a decade ago. This concept of the poverty line is the one oft-quoted by news pundits or people pushing social security agendas.

Now point #2 is not perfectly static b/c housing requirements would vary dramatically between say Alaska and Miami, but the definition does include the concept of privacy. But hey, this stuff is good, this is stuff that can be measured. I really appreciate the reply, b/c most people don't care to even think about this stuff.

Now given that I live in balmy Winnipeg, I'll nitpick your list and add the requirement for adequate clothing (big deal out here, $100 winter jackets are not for show).

Given all of this info, I think that we'll actually reduce this conversation to something with a political bend (which makes this an opinion/ideological debate, rather than a debate about definitions). I'll warn you that I'm of the conservative bend.

The minimum wage in my region is $7.60 or about USD $6.61 (actually higher than the US minimum wage). At 40 hrs/week, that's just over about 15k, after standard income taxes that's about 12k/year or 1k/month. Now, in Winnipeg, a basic 2 bedroom apartment costs $700/month, and I'd like to assume that having a room-mate offers "the possibility for privacy", so all we'd really need to provide is schooling (free to 12th grade in Canada) and health care (free in Canada, drugs not included). So that leaves our minimum wage employee about $650/month (paying half the rent) to make food and clothes.

So clearly, with that money, this person is not poor by your definitions. Heck, with this money they could apply for a reduced-rate pass at the local Y, pay for a monthly bus pass (now tax-deductible) and even be well-entertained between the library and activities at the Y. In fact this minimum-wage employee, working full time, could ostensibly live a pretty healthy life. And let's not forget, that they won't stay at minimum forever, currently minimum wage (in Manitoba) is set to go up again in April (to $8/hour), but it's already irrelevant b/c we're at 3.5% unemployment, so nobody really makes minimum wage. All you really need to do is show up to work every day, do an adequate job and you'll get regular pay increases, so even minimum can be viewed as a short term issue.

Now, this issue changes a little when a kid arrives, but even a single parent is not without recourse in Canada. The government provides a Canada Child Tax Benefit (on a sliding scale) and Manitoba has the Manitoba Shelter Benefit for families, there is a GST Tax Credit, there are CRISP benefits and even childcare (daycare) subsidies. Of course, in single parent situations, the "missing" parent is expected to pay child support. If that "missing" parent has died, the government will help replace that income using Canada pension plan benefits, to the tune of about $200/month. As a bonus, if you need childcare to be able to work, those childcare costs are tax-deductible (whatever parts are not already subsidized). The system only scales out to a few of children, but if you have 4 kids, no partner and a

Taxes are lower, though. Looks like at my income level I pay about 4% less tax total than those in Nova Scotia. So it all adds up.

From this we have a 16% Canadian Federal tax on the first CA$35,596, and 22% on the rest to $71,190. So, for CA$37,500, that's CA$5695.36 plus 22% of CA$1904 or CA$418.88 for a total of CA$6114.24. Now, lets take into account the non-refundable tax credits. For a single person, that would be 16% of CA$8,012 or CA$1,281.92. If you're married to a non-working spouse, you get an additional 16% of CA$6,083 or CA$973.28 for a total of CA$2,255.20. Thus, the Canadian Federal tax burden for a single person earning CA$37,500 is CA$4,832.32. For a married person, with a non-working spouse, it's CA$3,859.04.

The Ontario tax is computed similarly. From this, we see that the Ontario tax is 6.05% on the first CA$34,009 and 9.15% on CA$34,010 to CA$68,020. For someone earning CA$37,500 that's $2057.54 plus 9.15% of CA$3,491 or CA$319.43 for a total Ontario tax of CA$2376.97. There is no surtax at this level (20% additional tax on the tax over $CA$3,939, and an additional 16% tax on the tax over CA$4957). The Ontario non-refundable tax credits are 6.05% on $CA8,044 for singles, and an additional 6.05% on $CA6,830 for a credit of CA$522.86 for singles and CA$936.08 for marrieds supporting a non-working spouse. So the Ontario tax for a single earning CA$37,500 is CA$1,854.11, and for a married supporting a non-working spouse is CA$1,440.89.

Now, Ontario has a health insurance premium. For someone earning CA$37,500, it's CA$390.

There is a Federal Canada Pension Plan, requiring contributions of 4.7% of income to CA$37,400, with the first CA$3,500 exempted. So 4.7% of CA$33,900 is CA$1593.30.

There is a Federal Employment Insurance premium requiring 1.95% of income to a maximum of premium of CA$760.50 Someone earning CA$37,500 would pay EI of CA$731.25.

So, total Federal tax, Ontario tax, Ontario health premium, Federal Canada Pension Plan, and Federal Employment Insurance for a single total CA$9,400.98. If you're married, supporting a non-working spouse, it's CA$8,014.48.

If you had no other bona-fide deductions and only paid CA$4,000 in Federal and Ontario taxes including CPP, EI, and Ontario HPP, you underpaid by some CA$5,400.

I suspect your CA$4k figure comes from only considering Federal tax.

Same goes for Canada, except the threshold is $30,000 CDN.

GST in canada is only charged to canadian residents - if an item is shipped outside Canada - GST should not be charged. If you travel to Canada to buy an item, you can still get your money back by filling out a form at the border.

For most of us who want to sell on eBay this doesn't change anything - we won't have to charge GST.

For buying, we will have to scan for the added tax. But, if you look at the bottom of each listing (near shipping info) you will notice that most power sellers may have provincial/state taxes - so this will just be another line listed there.

When I look at a listing I first check the number of feedbacks. If the number is in the thousands, you know its a business.

So, in summary, this is not earth shattering news. Keep moving, nothing to see here...

Same goes for Canada, except the threshold is $30,000 CDN.

GST in canada is only charged to canadian residents - if an item is shipped outside Canada - GST should not be charged. If you travel to Canada to buy an item, you can still get your money back by filling out a form at the border.

For most of us who want to sell on eBay this doesn't change anything - we won't have to charge GST.

For buying, we will have to scan for the added tax. But, if you look at the bottom of each listing (near shipping info) you will notice that most power sellers may have provincial/state taxes - so this will just be another line listed there.

When I look at a listing I first check the number of feedbacks. If the number is in the thousands, you know its a business.

So, in summary, this is not earth shattering news. Keep moving, nothing to see here...

So nobody pays tax on necessities.

Pardon me if I don't trust the people who are deciding what's a necessity and what's not. After all, if I read the Canadian example correctly, _they_ wound up deciding that a dozen doughnuts was an essential, but that a roll of toilet paper was not. Goodness only knows what might happen if the U.S. Congress made such a list.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/taxra tes-e.htmlTax Rates

Here in BC, Canada we pay

16-29% Federal Tax

6-14% Provincial Tax

14% Sales Tax

For gas,

a portion of the price includes various taxes, including road improvement+ public transit support tax.. and then on top of that u pay your sales tax on the gas.

To make matters worse, previously barely any of the tax money collected from gas was returned to the provincial gov for use on transit or roads.

Then you have your property tax (which is riddled with taxes for various services, some who don't even get the money that they are supposed to get) +utility tax etc..

Add a 14% sales tax to everything you buy and u start to realize that crap is really expensive..

Keep in mind the Provincial and Federal Gov have been reporting a lot of surplus. But still no real tax reduction.

Where does all this money go? Most of it goes to Quebec, our French Speaking province so that they will stay with Canada. Then Ontario and all the other eastern provinces. And a huge amount gets involved in government scandals.

The only good thing from all of this is that we have medicare in Canada and our gov said no to the Iraq war and US Missile Prgm.

To add insult to "progression" we get a GST rebate based on taxable income. The more taxable income you have the bigger the rebate.

As someone else pointed out this is not quite true. The GST rebate actually works like an inverted U, as you make more (up to about $15k) you get more because you're spending more (and therefore paying more GST). Then as you start making even more (above around $25k) you start getting less, because you need the break less. And you actually get $56 every four months even if you're making 0 dollars, according to this.

Personally I think this makes a whole lot of sense. And I was pleasantly surprised to discover my amount going up as I got better co-op jobs.

IANAL, but I believe you have to apply to be a registered charity in Canada with the CRA. See the documentation to become a registered charity.