Another tax grab. HST has passed. So now everything will be charged a flat 13%. Keep in mind that's after tax dollars. Gas, already too high, will go up another 8%. Books, groceries, everything that previously didn't have provincial tax applied will go up.

Arggghh....

Won't be implemented til July, but once in place, you know it will never leave.

Duane

Yes Duane, but since you reside in Ottawa, you actually will be able to see your tax dollars at work.

BAH!  This sucks.. but it's not surprising

I wish we'd just go Euro-style and lump the taxes into the sales price... paying tax is part of life, but I'd rather not see the amount.

Look at it this way.... now they won't have to increase the tax on smokes or booze.  at least not for a few months after the HST comes into effect anyway.

meh, whatta ya gonna do, move to Alberta where there is no sales tax.

As they say the only thing certain in life is Death and taxes.  

Taxes only go up, don't act so surprised

Come to Quebec... you won't find it so bad after all in Ontario.

Quoted from Sparky

Come to Quebec... you won't find it so bad after all in Ontario.

Is it because of all the French people?  

Quoted from jonny_eh

Taxes only go up, don't act so surprised

Eventually there has to be action by the people for that exact reason. We have come to accept that taxes will continue to go up, but that simply isn't right. I start with 100% of my income, then I pay income tax, property tax, tax, tax, tax, tax. There has to be a limit.

What really pisses me off is the waste I have seen. I have been working with Government (on and off) since I graduated. That's over 15 years ago and I have seen some incredible waste. They aren't held accountable, go through cash like water and then pass the buck on to the public.

And God forbid a public servant should have cash left at year end! If they do, their budget will be decreased for the next year. BUT in the Government, your rank is judged by the size of your budget (NOT what you have accomplished with it), so everyone spends, spends, spends until it is all gone. Then the following year, they claim they need more $$$.

Duane

My service business will take another 8 % hit (it's already down 30%). My MP emailed me personally this afternoon (I'm a bit of a village idiot, or at least as notorious as one politically) and was trying to convince me how wonderful it was. I think the Liberals shot themselves in the foot, and it ain't gonna get any better under the cons. Thank god they don't have a leader to speak of right now...

About the only good news is they are going to take some of the wind out of the sails of that dumbf*ck move to deregulate the energy industry ... Finally!

My wife works in the health care sector, She is in management....  They are current;y dealing with a whole bunch of crisis situations, and trying to cut services to run without a defecit... So some upper level Douchebag decided to take all the managers into a 3 day meeting to do some vision excersises to help envision the coming 5 and ten year periods.... even though they are unsure of how to survive the next 90 days!!!!

AND



Being from the North, after talking to my family this week, it seems that Northern ontario is still getting the short end of the stick with bailouts and tax relief, not to mention tree hugging douchebags here in the city comlaining about stuff like Bear and Wolf hunts (and both species have become a MAJOR nussiance in the north)  Forestry industry has lost thousands of jobs and tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars... destroying communities... and no bailout or help for them.

Quoted from Vengeance

meh, whatta ya gonna do, move to Alberta where there is no sales tax.

Not a bad idea.

Quoted from Vengeance

meh, whatta ya gonna do, move to Alberta where there is no sales tax.

As they say the only thing certain in life is Death and taxes.  

I grew up in Calgary. Awesome city until the explosion in the last decade or so. Way too expensive to live there now or I'd be seriously thinking of going back. When you look at house prices, ouch! I'll stay put and b**** about the new HST.  

Duane

Quoted from machine.slave

Is it because of all the French people?  

Quoi, t'aime pas les French people???

Quoted from TwilightZone

I grew up in Calgary. Awesome city until the explosion in the last decade or so. Way too expensive to live there now or I'd be seriously thinking of going back. When you look at house prices, ouch! I'll stay put and b**** about the new HST.  

Duane

Yes luckly I bought in before the boom.  Don't want to move since I will get a good price for my home but have to also buy a home in the same market.  Just spending the cash on home improvements and pinball machines

going to have to buy my house before july to miss this tax on my biggest purchase.  

More and more am I ever happy i purchased in Gatineau.
HST will still affect me but hell at least I have a decent size property and my property tax has not went up at all in 5 years.
Not like my Father he lives on Donald Street in Ottawa been there for 30 years and it's a semi detached.
Well his house is now considerd to be part of downtown Ottawa and almost pays double in taxes that I do.

Quoted from AMX

Quoi, t'aime pas les French people???

Would I be here if I didn't love the French people?  

Quoted from gorydeath

going to have to buy my house before july to miss this tax on my biggest purchase.  

I believe houses under $450k are exempt anyway (for now....)

Thank God, too.. we bought our house in May.. but don't take possession until next September (new build), so this would've meant another $20k at closing for us

I know who I'm voting for in the next elections...any party that didn't support this blatant tax grab.

Quoted from ken_cinder

I know who I'm voting for in the next elections...any party that didn't support this blatant tax grab.

You might as well vote for "all of the above" and cancel your vote because they are all the same.

Who runs the economy? Financial advisors? Accountants? Nope. Lawyers.

Who runs the health ministries? Doctors? Nope. Lawyers.

Who runs the transport ministries? Civil engineers? Nope. Lawyers.

A bad thief is in jail. A good thief is still out there. An excellent thief is in government.

I can go on and on...

Actually, I did tell off a politician once. On a Super Bowl weekend at my cousin's place, one of his buddies is an under-minister and was present. The discussion was on voting participation and this idiot was angry at the population for being uninterested in the democratic process.

I told him it was simple... everyone hates you all because you are all crooked. And since we can't get rid of you (replacing one thief by another doesn't help), we just ignore you. The governing representatives have only but themselves to blame for social/political indifference.

Quoted from machine.slave

I believe houses under $450k are exempt anyway (for now....)

Thank God, too.. we bought our house in May.. but don't take possession until next September (new build), so this would've meant another $20k at closing for us

  thanks.  good to know.  still no matter what i want a place before halloween.

Quoted from gorydeath

  thanks.  good to know.  still no matter what i want a place before halloween.

Pin night at Gory's!

Quoted from gorydeath

  thanks.  good to know.  still no matter what i want a place before halloween.

Don't you live at your shop anyway?  

I am gonna let you guys all in on a little secret.

You know this hobby we have where we buy and sell games and such.

Well call it a side business and you can friggin deduct it as an expense against your other income.
Your parts, your games, your supplies, customs, duties, shipping, parts of your house, your heat, your light, etc, etc.
Every dollar you spend can be used as a tax deduction as long as keep records of everything and you try to make a profit.

And guess what, you can file GST/HST returns, and if you pay more GST/HST than you receive, the government will pay you back the difference. (you'll need a GST/business number).

So turn your crazy hobby into a business and save a few bucks.
Merry Christmas.

Quoted from coaster33

I am gonna let you guys all in on a little secret.

You know this hobby we have where we buy and sell games and such.

Well call it a side business and you can friggin deduct it as an expense against your other income.

I'd be very careful going down that path. It is only a business if it is a business. Plain and simple. For most of us, we lose money especially if you start calculating all the parts and such we buy for our own machines.

A business cann't continue to lose money year after year without the Government getting suspicious and initiating an audit. You don't want an audit.

Sure if you are selling 50 games a year, it's a business. If you are selling one or two to buy another, I don't think that would constitute a business.

Either way, before going down this path, do your research and talk to some professionals.

My .02

Duane

Or don't do it - it's up to you.

But it is perfectly legal. Ask your accountant beforehand. (I did)

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/slprtnr/wht-eng.html

Coaster33: It is legal only if it IS a legit business and the key word here is "business".  If it's not a true business, if you're just dealing with a couple of pins a year and you end up keeping those for a period of time, that would be noticeable by an auditor.  It is not worth the risk and offering this advice to others is damn dangerous. For every accountant who'll tell you it's ok to do as you ask, you'll find several more who will say "ah... wait a minute".  There is a reason why that link you quoted has the word "evidence" in bold.

You can do whatever you want but be careful when offering "free" advice to others.

Duane =

Actually, ANY time you sell something in Ontario, it IS considered business and you own PST, and income tax on the profit.  If you have a legit business and pay you dues, you can deduct expenses, but you can only take a loss for so long before they disallow.

Or you do as so many Metro Cops have done before. Say nothing, publish nothing. Deal in cash. 'nuff said.

Make your own decision based on your own situation - http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it459/it459-e.html

I purchase property, then improve it's marketability, and make efforts to attract purchasers.
I try to sell the property for more than I paid, and have the intention to make a profit.
IMO, under CRA definition, I operate a business.