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Post by Cranky on Mar 27, 2009 11:14:54 GMT -5
For those who voted for McStupid....enjoy the ENDLESS tax and spending of the Ontario Liberals.... ~~~~~~~~~~ Caught in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, with many fearful for their jobs, homes and their children's chances of ever finding decent jobs, it's doubtful many Ontarians were looking for leadership like this from Premier Dalton McGuinty in yesterday's provincial budget. Its major initiative, by far, is the combining of the 5% federal GST with the 8% Ontario sales tax into a single, "harmonized" sales tax of 13%. This will mean a massive extension of the 8% Ontario sales tax to a wide range of goods and services to which the 5% GST only applies at present, with relatively few exemptions such as children's clothing, books, diapers, feminine hygiene products, etc. As you read the list below of all the things on which taxes will jump from 5% to 13% on July 1, 2010, remember these examples are illustrative, not exhaustive. More..... www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/lorrie_goldstein/2009/03/27/8901256-sun.html |
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Post by jkr on Mar 27, 2009 13:11:00 GMT -5
A few things stand out on thta list:
- taxing books for the blind- pretty low if you ask me.
- shoes under $30.00. This has been around for years & I remember taking advantage of it when my kids were small. It was supposed to be a break for low income families. Guess it isn't anymore.
- nicotine replacment treatment. So you're trying to quit & become less of a burden on the province & they hit for that.
I'm sure more will come to me but these stand out for now.
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Post by CrocRob on Mar 27, 2009 13:36:43 GMT -5
Not that I know the details, but personal and corporate income tax is getting slashed at the same time.
I'll reserve judgment until I know the full details, instead of only focusing on the harmonized tax, which generally makes my life easier.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2009 14:30:39 GMT -5
McStupid. Clever.
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Post by Skilly on Mar 27, 2009 21:09:28 GMT -5
Atlantic Canada has had a "harmonized tax" for about 10 years now .... it has served us well.
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Post by ValkyrieNS on Mar 28, 2009 17:46:48 GMT -5
Atlantic Canada has had a "harmonized tax" for about 10 years now .... it has served us well. The harmonized sales tax (HST) applies in the following provinces (the "participating provinces"): * New Brunswick * Nova Scotia * Newfoundland and Labrador *Almost* all of Atlantic Canada (not PEI). (Just being nitpicky, lol!) |
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Post by Skilly on Mar 28, 2009 18:01:54 GMT -5
Atlantic Canada has had a "harmonized tax" for about 10 years now .... it has served us well. The harmonized sales tax (HST) applies in the following provinces (the "participating provinces"): * New Brunswick * Nova Scotia * Newfoundland and Labrador *Almost* all of Atlantic Canada (not PEI). (Just being nitpicky, lol!) But they are reconsidering it ... and the government's logic for rejecting it is skewed. The HST in the other three provinces is 13%. PEI's PST and GST comes to 16.6%. They say that if everyone doesnt benefit from it they will not join on ... NL's PST and GST was atronomically high before we joined on, and reducing it to the HST never hurt.... But you are correct, PEI currently does not have the HST ... |
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Post by franko on Mar 28, 2009 21:26:19 GMT -5
as it was originally called out east, it is getting the moniker "BSt"
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Post by clear observer on Mar 31, 2009 11:32:04 GMT -5
Can someone please explain to me how this is supposed to help the citizens of Ontario? Seems to me this will significantly raise the cost of living.  |
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Post by The New Guy on Mar 31, 2009 11:48:44 GMT -5
Can someone please explain to me how this is supposed to help the citizens of Ontario? Seems to me this will significantly raise the cost of living. It's not supposed to help the citizens of Ontario, CO. It's supposed to help a nearly bankrupt provincial government keep its head (barely) above water. |
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Post by franko on Mar 31, 2009 12:21:36 GMT -5
Citizens have one job and one job only: to feed an ever-increasing bureaucracy. Quietly. Without complaining.  The COC will not allow me to post the image that I thought really caught the flavour of what he is doing.Do you remember the pledge he signed to not raise taxes? |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Apr 5, 2009 17:46:54 GMT -5
McGuinty is bribing each family that doesn't make over a predetermined amount by giving them $1000 in three installments over the year. However, not only will the provincial tax been blended with the GST, I got hit with an ecotax yesterday after buying a new PC.
This will also apply to purchases of any new electronics to include stereos, televisions, etc. I haven't found a link but when I do I'll post it.
Guess he really doesn't want to be re-elected any time in the future ... not that I voted for him last time either.
Putz!!
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Post by franko on Apr 5, 2009 21:19:21 GMT -5
McGuinty is bribing each family that doesn't make over a predetermined amount by giving them $1000 in three installments over the year. $160,000!!! Whew! Forgot about it, but I guess we missed it by buying last Saturday. Well, one might have thought that he would lose the last election after promising to bring no new taxes in but doing so immediately . . . but people have short memories. Actually sat in on a focus group [before the last election] that was trying to discover McGuinty's weak points and how he could overcome them. The answer from the people: deflect, deflect, deflect. He did it in spades so we have him for three more years. Won't make a difference, though, unless the lack-of-opposition parties choose a strong leader -- something I doubt will happen. |
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Post by clear observer on Apr 7, 2009 11:35:12 GMT -5
McGuinty is bribing each family that doesn't make over a predetermined amount by giving them $1000 in three installments over the year. Ah, the proverbial carrot; swallowed-up by MOST families within a couple of months. What an INCREDIBLY INEPT government we have. |
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Post by CrocRob on Apr 7, 2009 12:02:50 GMT -5
McGuinty is bribing each family that doesn't make over a predetermined amount by giving them $1000 in three installments over the year. However, not only will the provincial tax been blended with the GST, I got hit with an ecotax yesterday after buying a new PC. This will also apply to purchases of any new electronics to include stereos, televisions, etc. I haven't found a link but when I do I'll post it. Yeah I've seen that around. I don't mind it, to be honest. Everyone wants these things disposed of properly, but nobody's willing to pay for their recycling and gets all up in arms when there are TVs and computers in the dump. Taxing the purchase sure makes more sense than taxing the population base to deal with it. The tail's wagging the dog, but at least it's only wagging the part that uses the products. |
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Post by franko on Apr 7, 2009 13:05:19 GMT -5
Cynicism Alert:
You know what's going to happen, don't you?
The government will collect the tax fee.
The used electronic objects [which will not be picked up, but need to be delivered to a recycling depot by the owner] will make their way to a landfill [warned you!]
The tax fee will make its way into general revenues . . . much like the road tax does.
But is certainly sounds green and like the government is doing something!
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Post by CrocRob on Apr 7, 2009 14:36:21 GMT -5
Well I'd be surprised if that happens since the program is apparently going to operate at a loss. The fees collected are used to subsidize the collectors of equipment who previously had to charge for recycling (as much as $25, as per my Dad who does research in the area). Now it's free. Also, many municipalities have arranged that the large waste that's picked up will be recycled somewhere if possible, so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to put your big screen TV out on the curb and call them. Supposedly dumps are supposed to have areas for collection that local collections facilities can come and pick up the stuff dropped off, too.
It sounds "green", but to me it seems practical more than anything.
I don't see the issue. You don't put cans of paint or oil on the side of the road, so for how often you're throwing out a computer or television driving to the local collections facility (after checking there are 2 of them nearer to me than the dump) shouldn't be a big deal.
Maybe they should have instituted a deposit policy. People get $2 back or something, lol. Brewer's Retail gets about 95% of their bottles back, after all.
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Post by franko on Apr 7, 2009 14:56:28 GMT -5
Well, Rs, what can I say? You're one of the good ones!
City of Ottawa picks up just about anything left at the side of the road [couches, construction materials] . . . and paint cans . . . even though they say they don't! Everything goes into the truck . . . take a computer monitor out and it'll be picked up [in fact, if they don't pick it up, just move it to another area of town another garbage day -- it'll be picked up then!].
There is a hazardous waste collection facility here, and a couple of times a year they have pick-up days at various locations, but people still just slog stuff out to the curb -- easier, doncha know. Make 'em pay? They'll grumble and complain but still do it.
And as much as dumps have different areas for different materials, when it all goes into the truck it all goes to the same place -- recyclables and rotted food together along with dirty diapers.
I actually agree with the deposit suggestion: an extra $10 for a monitor, an extra $50 for a TV . . . half back when you bring it to a recycling facility. Money going back into my pocket is an incentive.
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Post by CrocRob on Apr 7, 2009 16:09:46 GMT -5
Hah if you don't have your recycling organized well enough they don't pick it up here, and paint/oil cans are left behind from what I've seen. But that's nothing!
In Guelph they have a clear plastic garbage policy, where in if your garbage is in a black/opaque bag it won't get picked up, and if there's visible recyclables in your clear bag it's also left behind. It only takes one time sifting through your own week-old garbage before you learn to recycle, I'd bet!
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Post by franko on Apr 7, 2009 18:26:00 GMT -5
We have blue boxes [plastics], black boxes [paper], and soon-to-come green boxes [basically compost, which many people already do]. If you don't recycle, no big deal [though they are talking about limiting garbage to one bag a week - right now everything you put out is picked up, and I mean everything . . . and if you do recycle you're in trouble. One woman put out one of those small grocery store bags one week and it wasn't picked up; the next week too, so she phoned in to complain that it was being left and was told that it wasn't enough to stop for! Try living in PEI, where the recycle police are worse than in Guelph -- 4 or 5 different recycling boxes as well as the clear plastic thing. then there's [ the whole show] |
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Post by ValkyrieNS on Apr 8, 2009 5:57:48 GMT -5
In HRM (Halifax & surrounding areas) we have blue bags (everything but paper), grocery bags (paper), green carts (organics & biodegradables [food, boxboard, soiled paper, dryer lint, pet hair, kleenex]), black bags (limit of 6) and limit of 1 large item. A couple of weeks ago, we put out 5 bags of garbage (which included a lot of broken tile and drywall from our bathroom renovation -- we actually asked our neighbour if we could put 3 bags on his side as well, there was that much of it), the old tub and 1 piece of cardboard (from the new tub, so it was a large piece of cardboard). The cardboard got tagged with the evil orange sticker because... it wasn't folded down into a smaller size and tied with string! Are they nuts? It was 1 piece! As of February 1, 2008, we have to bring back to a recycling centre: computers, monitors, printers and televisions, and as of February 1, 2009: * Audio and video playback and recording systems: -personal/portable audio/video systems, radios, speakers, CD players, MP3 players, stereos -digital cameras, video cameras and camcorders -VCR's, DVD players -clock radios -car stereo systems -home theatre in a box * Telephones (corded and cordless), fax and answering machines * Computer Scanners * Cell Phones and other wireless devices We are also thinking of going to a clear garbage bag system as well. Joy  |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Apr 8, 2009 7:48:20 GMT -5
The cardboard got tagged with the evil orange sticker because... it wasn't folded down into a smaller size and tied with string! Are they nuts? It was 1 piece! This was hard for us when we came back from living in Germany for five years. In Germany they recycle just about everything and if you throw out anything recyclable in the ordinary garbage, even your neighbours are on you. However, when we got back we soon found out that only certain items were recyclable. At first we were kind of confused in that not everything was recycled. However, what ticked us off was the nasty note in our blue bin telling us in very direct terms that the City of Kingston would not tolerate having to separate recyclables from ordinary garbage. Moreover, they would refuse pick up in the future if this continued. They've come a long way since then, tough. They're recycling just about everything now with very few exceptions. If you miss the weekly city pickup, taking thinks to the recycling dump on your own is free. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 9, 2009 14:33:11 GMT -5
And behold ... ========================================================== Ontario passes bill to create 13 per cent HST
By Keith Leslie, THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO - Legislation to create a single 13 per cent sales tax in Ontario passed third and final reading Wednesday despite strong objections and delaying tactics by the Opposition. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told the legislature that blending the five per cent GST with the provincial tax will lower costs for businesses, allowing them to lower prices for consumers and hire more staff. "Doing nothing is not an option (and) the status quo is just absolutely the wrong thing," Duncan said in third reading debate. "This package will create jobs." (huh! A horse in every stable, a chicken in every pot)The rest of the same old song |
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Post by CentreHice on Dec 9, 2009 15:13:28 GMT -5
And behold ... ========================================================== Ontario passes bill to create 13 per cent HST
By Keith Leslie, THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO - Legislation to create a single 13 per cent sales tax in Ontario passed third and final reading Wednesday despite strong objections and delaying tactics by the Opposition. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told the legislature that blending the five per cent GST with the provincial tax will lower costs for businesses, allowing them to lower prices for consumers and hire more staff. What dream world is that scenario from.....  That's what they said about the GST.....that manufacturers would lower the cost to consumers accordingly, especially on the bigger ticket items like large appliances. Nobody I've talked to in the past few years has seen a reduction in the cost of such items. It's more like a bonus....as they charge the same but don't have the tax cost.....and of course, the government just sucks more from the middle class range. Fool me once..... I don't know if it's going to be applied across the board....i.e. in my industry, we charge the 5% GST on our performances. With the HST, will we have to charge 13%? If so, I can see producers leaving town. |
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Post by duster on Dec 9, 2009 17:18:56 GMT -5
All we need now is for the politicians to reluctantly vote themselves a raise due to a higher cost of living brought on by increased taxation...
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Post by The New Guy on Dec 9, 2009 17:38:26 GMT -5
I got out just in time it looks like...
Seriously, if I was still living in Ontario it's not the tax that would piss me off the most about this (although it would, in fact, ignite the deep pit of rage in my stomach) but the fact that Dalton hides behind the aegis of acting for the common good with out actually facing the commons. They have rushed it through the legislature so fast it's ridiculous. Because Dalton knows that this tax will be political suicide if anyone looks too closely.
It's too bad John Tory screwed up the last election with that school nonsense. And that Ontario voters are run for the comfort of the red rag every time someone mentions Mike Harris.
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Post by Cranky on Dec 10, 2009 1:43:13 GMT -5
I went to pickup a cheque from one of my customers. The receptionist is one of the most cheerful, easy going girls that I ever met. She has a mile wide smile and a cheery disposition that would make a gargoyle smile. As for her looks, as for her body, I will not talk about it out of respect for the last granules of sanity.
She asks me...."why so serious? Are you sick? Hungry? Money?". "Nope" I said, "ever thing is great, I'm just bothered by all the bs around me". I guess she never heard of the famous uberCranky! *shrug*
"Why worry, you can't do anything about it. Just enjoy life". I'm not sure if her lips moved or she telepathed those words, I just know that I heard them through my glaze.
She is soooo right and at the same time, SO wrong. Not to worry, not to fight is to abdicate the control of ones life into someone else's hand. Worrying and fighting the ones who want to control our existence robs us of our time to enjoy life.
I wish McStupid and his peeons would disappear into some kind of black hole....and I wish my wife would embrace polygamy. *sigh*
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