1  2  3  Next

This is kind of like Robinhood only in reverse....steal from the poor,give to the rich.



Canadians taking advantage of GST reduction
Updated Mon. Jul. 3 2006 7:22 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canadians have started taking advantage of the GST cut, buying luxury goods with the idea that the more you spend, the more you save.

For Lisa Filoso, the general sales tax reduction was an added $4,000 incentive to purchase a house.

"Four thousand dollars is better in my pocket than somewhere else," Filoso told CTV News on Sunday.

Shopper Colleen Houghton bought new furniture for $3,000, and put an extra $30 in her pocket.

"We did want to get couches anyway but we postponed it until afterwards just to save that little bit from the government," she said.

Canada Day marked the first time the GST was reduced in its 15-year history, from seven per cent to six.

Canadians will save about $5 billion a year thanks to the cut. But the government has made up for the lost revenue by rolling back broad income tax cuts promised by the Liberals.

"Some lower-income Canadians could pay more tax while the rich, with more to spend, will save more on the GST," reported CTV's Roger Smith.

One critic said cutting the GST is bad economics but a good political move, since the reduction is immediately visible to every voter.

"Canadians are being bribed with their own money here and it's probably good politics - unfortunately, because it's not the best way to us that amount of money," said economist Dale Orr.

He argued income tax relief would have been more beneficial for the economy, and that the price of small items will adjust to make the cut unnoticeable.

"Newspapers used to be 92 cents," said convenience store operator Antoine Cano. "In order to round up to a dollar, they jack it up to 94 cents, so consumers don't save on little things."

Canada Day also marked some income tax changes:

Canadians in the lowest personal income tax bracket will now see a slight difference in their take-home pay, now that the rate has been bumped up to 15.5 per cent from 15 per cent.
The Conservatives also introduced an unexpected tax credit on employment income of up to $500. The eligible amount will double to $1,000 as of January 1, 2007

   

I saved a penny on a pack of gum today and had an extra $30 deducted from my pay for income tax....fucking bullshit. I don't remember Harper talking about rolling back income tax cuts when he was promising a GST cut....

   

Just think of all the freeloaders and immigrants you are helping with that $30.00, don't you feel great?

   

That's because Harper is just as bad if not worse than the Liberals...Let's give the NDP a chance to screw up Canada this time...

   

Yeah, all those born with silver spoons in their mouths get to save hundreds of dollars on their next car purchase.

   

Funny you say that, I’m buying a new Lexus 350 this week for my wife.

   

Are you out of your mind?

Do you know who bob rae is ? google his ass and find out what the ndp did to Ontario. They will never get a chance to run Canada. EVER..........

   

They said they were going to do this from day 1. Try and keep up!

That income tax cut was only brought in in the last couple months and was only do so as bait for voters to go Liberal.

   

This thread should be titled "I'm a liberal, listen to me cry"

   

Some of those with silver spoons had to work their asses off to get them too. Just because someone can afford some luxuries in life doesn't mean that they don't deserve them. These are the rewards for hard work and perseverence. Too many people today think they deserve something for nothing and begrudge those who are successful.

   

Heard on the radio that the average Canadian will save $300 a year. Now, that's not really anything to the average Canadian with a $30,000 disposible income.

Sad that the only people who would benefit from saving $300 will never have the opportunity. Makes the whole thing pretty useless.

   

That's a car payment for me, I'll take it.

   

Well, once you start working in your chosen profession Blue, that's $ 300 a year more that you can donate to charity.

   

I just wonder about the woman who waited on 3k in furniture to save 30 bucks.............I am gonna save 37 bucks on my lawn rebuild next month, but I sure did not wait intentionally for it. A house or car I can understand waiting on, but 30 bucks? I waste that in two weeks at Timmies

   

Guys, ask any poverty adovocate (yes, look t the NDPers for this one) and they'll tell you that a value-added tax is quite regressive. The reason for this is because the poor cna not afford to save anything, therefore purchases make up a larger percentage of their earnings. Quite often, many right-wingers would actually replace all income tax with value-added taxes.

The Canadian Tax Payers Foundation has determined that the GST savings will be slightly more for most families.

   

1  2  3  Next