-
[QUOTE=erinlee01;975866213]Consider yourselves lucky. Every stat I've read shows the total tax burden of Canadians at about 40%.[/QUOTE]
It's higher.
My effective tax rate off my cheque is about 36% (last time I calculated). That includes federal income tax, employment insurance, and Canada Pension Plan (Same as US Social Security).
But we also have 8% Provincial sales tax and 5% Federal sales tax on everything else except groceries. Not food; groceries. If you eat out you're taxed.
So let's assume a guy makes a nice round $100k a year, spends about $200/week on groceries, and spends the rest of his money. Reasonable assumption since even if you save some you'll spend it eventually, or whoever inherits it will eventually spend it.
So of the $100k, $36k is taxed right off the paycheque, leaving $64k. $10k is spent on untaxed groceries, leaving $54k. With 13% sales tax his spending on goods & services is therefore $47.8k and the government gets another $6.2k in revenue. So his effective tax rate is over 42%.
This assumes he doesn't purchase fuel, alcohol or cigarettes, which all have hidden taxes.
But when my son was born, it was all free. So there ya go.
-
[QUOTE=-=FLEX=-;975876973]It's higher.
My effective tax rate off my cheque is about 36% (last time I calculated). That includes federal income tax, employment insurance, and Canada Pension Plan (Same as US Social Security).
But we also have 8% Provincial sales tax and 5% Federal sales tax on everything else except groceries. Not food; groceries. If you eat out you're taxed.
So let's assume a guy makes a nice round $100k a year, spends about $200/week on groceries, and spends the rest of his money. Reasonable assumption since even if you save some you'll spend it eventually, or whoever inherits it will eventually spend it.
So of the $100k, $36k is taxed right off the paycheque, leaving $64k. $10k is spent on untaxed groceries, leaving $54k. With 13% sales tax his spending on goods & services is therefore $47.8k and the government gets another $6.2k in revenue. So his effective tax rate is over 42%.
This assumes he doesn't purchase fuel, alcohol or cigarettes, which all have hidden taxes.
But when my son was born, it was all free. So there ya go.[/QUOTE]
Well, it's not free - it's covered in your taxes. The average American doesn't see (or chooses not to see) that nothing is free. Somewhere, someone will have to pay. They will be pissed when taxes get raised to cover healthcare costs.
Also, one of the key fundamental differences between the Obamacare system and the Canadian system is that the insurance companies are still private. So, I will continue to pay insurance premiums just like I always have. Which will go up because now pre-existing conditions have to be covered. And then on top of it, my taxes will go up. And I have to pay copays and have deductibles.
-
No matter who won the election, this is going to be a tough 4 years. Most of us will go backwards.
Our house has not seen a pay increase in over 2 years and our insurance rates have gone up, along with the cost of food and consumer goods. So, we are going backwards and are prepared to do so for another 4.
-
[QUOTE=erinlee01;975875833]We'll have the same management issues. The US government is not known for being efficient! :)
Obamacare has already been shown that it can't be sustained financially and in fact will cost much more than projected. It's a train wreck waiting to happen. I'm all for health care reform, but this plan does little to reform the system itself.[/QUOTE]
I don't know enough about Obamacare to have a real opinion on it.
I do know that I like our current system better than your current system.
:D
[QUOTE=-=FLEX=-;975876973]It's higher.
My effective tax rate off my cheque is about 36% (last time I calculated). That includes federal income tax, employment insurance, and Canada Pension Plan (Same as US Social Security).
But we also have 8% Provincial sales tax and 5% Federal sales tax on everything else except groceries. Not food; groceries. If you eat out you're taxed.
So let's assume a guy makes a nice round $100k a year, spends about $200/week on groceries, and spends the rest of his money. Reasonable assumption since even if you save some you'll spend it eventually, or whoever inherits it will eventually spend it.
So of the $100k, $36k is taxed right off the paycheque, leaving $64k. $10k is spent on untaxed groceries, leaving $54k. With 13% sales tax his spending on goods & services is therefore $47.8k and the government gets another $6.2k in revenue. So his effective tax rate is over 42%.
This assumes he doesn't purchase fuel, alcohol or cigarettes, which all have hidden taxes.
But when my son was born, it was all free. So there ya go.[/QUOTE]
Sales taxes vary by province. Luckily I live in a province that does not have a provincial tax, just the 5% sales tax.
And we have NEVER paid more than 25-30% in income tax, with an extra $300+ taken off each month. We always get a few thousand back come tax time.
But yes, I left the hospital with both my babies with a $45 bill for each. Only because I wanted the guarantee of a fancy private room.
[QUOTE=erinlee01;975879903]Well, it's not free - it's covered in your taxes. The average American doesn't see (or chooses not to see) that nothing is free. Somewhere, someone will have to pay. They will be pissed when taxes get raised to cover healthcare costs.
Also, one of the key fundamental differences between the Obamacare system and the Canadian system is that the insurance companies are still private. So, I will continue to pay insurance premiums just like I always have. Which will go up because now pre-existing conditions have to be covered. And then on top of it, my taxes will go up. And I have to pay copays and have deductibles.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, all that is definitely phooey.
-
Erin has said what I have been trying to explain to my wife for weeks. Well said Erin and agreed
-
[QUOTE=erinlee01;975879903]Well, it's not free - it's covered in your taxes.[/QUOTE]
Of course I realize that, which is why I mentioned it at the end of my dissertation on taxes. We have extraordinarily high taxes, but also free (or funded, whatever) healthcare, so it's a tradeoff.
And your right; Obamacare sucks because he's doing it wrong. Still tryign to keep the big insurance companies in the loop. The scoop a MINIMUM of 25% profit for themselves, plus all their operating and administrative costs. They suck HUGE amounts of money out of the healthcare system. They are what needs to go. Get rid of the middle men and have the government fund a true healthcare system.
[QUOTE=RebeccaG;975887293]
And we have NEVER paid more than 25-30% in income tax, [/QUOTE]
Just calculated my tax rate at my current salary using my weekly pay stub and it is exactly 33%.
But I know bonuses are taxed at 42% so maybe that's how I got to 36% last time using my year-end T4 slip with all earnings included.
-
[QUOTE=erinlee01;975866213]
Edit - Not arguing, just stating where my statement come from. I fully believe that people living in a country know more, for the most part, than people who don't.
[/QUOTE]
I know you're not arguing. :) I know you can have a [i]heated[/i] conversation without turning into a jackass.
[QUOTE=-=FLEX=-;975894743]Of course I realize that, which is why I mentioned it at the end of my dissertation on taxes. We have extraordinarily high taxes, but also free (or funded, whatever) healthcare, so it's a tradeoff.
And your right; Obamacare sucks because he's doing it wrong. Still tryign to keep the big insurance companies in the loop. The scoop a MINIMUM of 25% profit for themselves, plus all their operating and administrative costs. They suck HUGE amounts of money out of the healthcare system. They are what needs to go. Get rid of the middle men and have the government fund a true healthcare system.
Just calculated my tax rate at my current salary using my weekly pay stub and it is exactly 33%.
But I know bonuses are taxed at 42% so maybe that's how I got to 36% last time using my year-end T4 slip with all earnings included.[/QUOTE]
Either way, if this country could manage money just a teensy bit better, I wouldn't complain about a single tax dollar taken.
-
It's gonna be a looooong winter.
:(
-
Morning peeps. Glad I miss all the tax talk.
-
First real big snow storm is on us. Supposed to keep snowing until Sat AM.
Time to break out the sleds and ski's!
-
-
[QUOTE=PLANETGETLOW;976275053]BRB, 85 today[/QUOTE]
64 here. It was in the 50's this morning but I still took my bike out for my commute to work :D
-
It's not cold here yet but we got DUMPED on yesterday.
I can barely get boots and a coat on Graysen, forget a hat and mitts. And pushing a stroller through a foot of snow is not fun.
Took the sled today - which was HEAPS easier - but Graysen hated it, screamed the whole way. So hard he almost threw up. :(
We live too close to the school to drive. But just far enough that it's a complete pain in the ass.
But I may have found stroller skis.
:cool:
-
Stitches out yet? How's everything going?
-
[QUOTE=PLANETGETLOW;976310793]Stitches out yet? How's everything going?[/QUOTE]
Good!
Most of his stitches came out a few weeks ago. There are a couple still in his eyelid that will dissolve in about 6 weeks or so and we have to go back to the surgeon to check on the duct healing which will determine when the tube is removed. He's opening his eye more and more every day. :)
Things with the pup have changed a lot also. G-dude isn't climbing all over him at all anymore and Charlie won't stay in a room with the boys if Ry or I isn't there. If Charlie is in the kitchen and Graysen wanders in, Charlie will get up and leave. The changes that we made are working very well. :)
-
[QUOTE=RebeccaG;976332113]Good!
Most of his stitches came out a few weeks ago. There are a couple still in his eyelid that will dissolve in about 6 weeks or so and we have to go back to the surgeon to check on the duct healing which will determine when the tube is removed. He's opening his eye more and more every day. :)
Things with the pup have changed a lot also. G-dude isn't climbing all over him at all anymore and Charlie won't stay in a room with the boys if Ry or I isn't there. If Charlie is in the kitchen and Graysen wanders in, Charlie will get up and leave. The changes that we made are working very well. :)[/QUOTE]I'm glad to hear all of that!!
-
[QUOTE=PLANETGETLOW;976332913]I'm glad to hear all of that!![/QUOTE]
I'm glad it's been so easy.
It's taken some extra effort on our part but that's about it.
Though twice now Charlie's been aggressive out of nowhere at the dog park. Not jazzed about that. Usually he's Mr Congeniality. A couple people at the park told us some dogs go squirrelly in the snow. I'm hoping that's all it is.
Either way, we'll be starting training with him in the new year.
-
What? I cannot be the first poster here today.
So it was you jerks that sent us the snowstorm?
-
[QUOTE=medusa11;976828903]What? I cannot be the first poster here today.
So it was you jerks that sent us the snowstorm?[/QUOTE]
Yes that was me :D
JK
-
[QUOTE=ElClipo;976830103]Yes that was me :D
JK[/QUOTE]well then, negs for you!lol
-
I am so beyond ready to go home today. And I have to stay late for an It Works party - which is awesome because more money is awesome - but, frankly, I really just want to go home, sit on the couch, have a glass of wine, snuggle with the kiddo while Big Sexy rubs my feet. :(
-
[QUOTE=Simpy;976851593]I am so beyond ready to go home today. And I have to stay late for an It Works party - which is awesome because more money is awesome - but, frankly, I really just want to go home, sit on the couch, have a glass of wine, snuggle with the kiddo while Big Sexy rubs my feet. :([/QUOTE]Hey me too! I still have to start work. But I think it would be weird having Big Sexy rub my hobbit feet.
-
-
Party canceled! On the one hand: boo, no extra money. On the other hand: yay, I'm going home at 5 like a normal person.
-
Wine and a foot rub sounds wonderful!
Perhaps that is what I will do tonight.
Though I might trade wine for whiskey shots in an attempt to get rid of this cold faster.
-
We're going out for drinks tonight, then cigar and hottub
-
Jack has been asking to go to church lately. I honestly couldn't bear the idea of going to a Southern Baptist, which is the denomination of my raising. I won't disparage them, but will simply say that their beliefs and mine just don't mesh. I did a bit of research, and by a bit I mean so very, very little. Turns out the Episcopal Church is known for being rather liberal in their views. Jack and I tried out the one that's closest to us (about 20 minutes west of my house). On the outside it was very Catholic in appearance. I must admit, I rather like the pomp and circumstance. On the other hand, the sermon was positive. POSITIVE. Can you imagine? And it was less of a sermon and more of an allegory with a question at the end. So instead of being told what to think I was given a story, a question was posed, and I was left to walk away and think about what it might have meant.
I liked it.
I've been reading for the last hour about the beliefs of the Episcopalians. So far I've not come across one, "Thou shall not . . ." This is a major culture shock for me.
-
[QUOTE=Simpy;977826713]Jack has been asking to go to church lately. I honestly couldn't bear the idea of going to a Southern Baptist, which is the denomination of my raising. I won't disparage them, but will simply say that their beliefs and mine just don't mesh. I did a bit of research, and by a bit I mean so very, very little. Turns out the Episcopal Church is known for being rather liberal in their views. Jack and I tried out the one that's closest to us (about 20 minutes west of my house). On the outside it was very Catholic in appearance. I must admit, I rather like the pomp and circumstance. On the other hand, the sermon was positive. POSITIVE. Can you imagine? And it was less of a sermon and more of an allegory with a question at the end. So instead of being told what to think I was given a story, a question was posed, and I was left to walk away and think about what it might have meant.
I liked it.
I've been reading for the last hour about the beliefs of the Episcopalians. So far I've not come across one, "Thou shall not . . ." This is a major culture shock for me.[/QUOTE]
That's pretty cool! :)
Morning
Monday
Ugh
-
-
Hope all of you havea great day/week!
