Mr Luxury Yacht posted:

Reminds me of a guy I know who despite having a rather cushy bank job, also set up multiple companies in his name in order to deduct pretty much everything he earns from his real job against vague imaginary business expenses in personal companies that conveniently make no money. I think he claims he gives "financial advice to immigrants" or "general consulting advice" or something through his "companies" but will do things like drive across town to visit friends, claim he takes about finance and write the trip off as a business expense.

Like...I know it has to be illegal, but none of us can figure out the exact law and he's convinced the CRA won't gently caress him because "He's just a little guy, they've got bigger fish to fry".

sbaldrick posted:

The CRA will get him eventually. loving around with fake business expenses is always stupid as you will always get caught at some point even in a random personal audit which happen more then you think.

Dreylad posted:

I got audited by the CRA when I was 19. Behold, CRA, my vast financial empire of having a part-time job for 4 months and paying tuition to a university.

Baronjutter posted:

Then again our tax systems shouldn't be like this, it shouldn't take a paid wizard to get your correct results.

Baronjutter posted:

About half the people I've ever met that support a flat tax support it because the current system is "too confusing". Like they aren't libertarians or think the concept of progressive taxation is wrong, they just think the paperwork is too hard and it would be so much easier to have a flat tax because then they wouldn't have to pay H&R block to do their taxes every year.

ocrumsprug posted:

I always wonder about people that think the actual rate applied to their income is actually the complicated part of filing your taxes, or what you need an accountant for.

ocrumsprug posted:

I always wonder about people that think the actual rate applied to their income is actually the complicated part of filing your taxes, or what you need an accountant for.

Baronjutter posted:

We've complained about it before, but there are tons of well educated high earning people who still don't even understand the basic concept of progressive taxation. It's not that they can't calculate it on the fly, they don't understand the extremely general concept of it. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that an actual majority of Canadians think "tax brackets" are an ever increasing flat-tax applied to their income. Careful not to earn too much or you'll bump up into a higher bracket and actually lose money!! It's like this country wants to punish success.

PT6A posted:

Why not just include a graph of income tax vs. gross income, and net income vs. gross income (both assuming no deductions) with every tax package? It would be trivial to recognize that you can never "lose money" by making more money, even if you don't understand the concept of tax brackets that well to begin with.

Lexicon posted:

lol, you think the average Canadian can read a graph?

Fuzzy Mammal posted:

When I moved to Washington state my overall tax bill was cut by over 60%, despite my income over doubling. It's ridiculous.

You pay for it in other ways though, with shoddier higher education, higher healthcare costs, and worse roads, but still. 18% gross versus over 50% made it a no brainer.

HookShot posted:

The worse roads are such a noticeable thing in America. Driving on I90 there were actual RUTS in the road where if you weren't exactly in the rut it was super hard to control the car. Lane changing was super weird because of it. I'd literally never, ever seen that before anywhere in Canada, and I've driven across BC multiple times on a lot of different highways.

HookShot posted:

The worse roads are such a noticeable thing in America. Driving on I90 there were actual RUTS in the road where if you weren't exactly in the rut it was super hard to control the car. Lane changing was super weird because of it. I'd literally never, ever seen that before anywhere in Canada, and I've driven across BC multiple times on a lot of different highways.

HookShot posted:

The worse roads are such a noticeable thing in America. Driving on I90 there were actual RUTS in the road where if you weren't exactly in the rut it was super hard to control the car. Lane changing was super weird because of it. I'd literally never, ever seen that before anywhere in Canada, and I've driven across BC multiple times on a lot of different highways.

Lexicon posted:

Sounds like Montreal to me.

etalian posted:

Montreal roads were apparently hand crafted by the local mafia.

sbaldrick posted:

How where you paying over 50%, I pay around 30% and I'm in the top 20% of the country.

Cultural Imperial posted:

I think the only place in North America you can move to where you're significantly ahead due to income tax is Texas.

HookShot posted:

The worse roads are such a noticeable thing in America. Driving on I90 there were actual RUTS in the road where if you weren't exactly in the rut it was super hard to control the car. Lane changing was super weird because of it. I'd literally never, ever seen that before anywhere in Canada, and I've driven across BC multiple times on a lot of different highways.

quote:

BMO: "Outside Vancouver & Toronto, [#housing} valuations appear reasonable, reducing the chance of a severe nationwide correction" #cdnecon

https://twitter.com/dbcurren/status/568075451605897216

Mr Luxury Yacht posted:

Was this like 2008 or 2009? One of those years I think they must have decided to audit like every university student, because myself and more than half of my friends got hit all in one tax period.

Cultural Imperial posted:

quote:

Influx of new residents expected for B.C. over next several years

British Columbia’s economy is expected to get a lift over the next several years from an influx of new residents, helping fill job vacancies and spurring demand for housing.

Tuesday’s provincial budget forecasts a net gain of 46,600 people moving to B.C. in 2015, and a steady flow of new residents for years to come.

This year’s population growth will be composed of 36,600 individuals from abroad and 10,000 people from other provinces, according to projections in budget documents.

In 2016, the total net inflow should reach 50,800 new residents, followed by roughly 52,200 annually for several more years, B.C.’s Ministry of Finance said.

The predicted annual growth marks an increase from 2012 and 2013. B.C. had a total net gain of 26,749 people in 2012 and an influx of 33,625 in 2013. In the first nine months of last year, the net gain was 44,521 people from other countries and other provinces.

The Economic Forecast Council of British Columbia said population growth is important to support the province’s need for skilled trades and also for bolstering the housing market.

B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong consults with the council, made up of 14 Canadian economists, as part of his budget preparations.

“B.C.’s skills-training initiatives and interprovincial and international migration were identified as critical components to the ongoing success of the province’s resource industries and overall economy,” according to the summary of the council’s views contained in budget papers.

Most council members expect B.C.’s housing market to cool off, with a couple of economists saying that a “soft landing” has occurred in real estate already.

Greater Vancouver is the province’s most expensive housing region, with prices averaging $812,653 last year for detached homes, condos and townhouses.

That average price rose 5.8 per cent from $767,765 in 2013, the B.C. Real Estate Association said.

Low interest rates have helped fuel Greater Vancouver’s real estate market to record-high prices, but there is uncertainty about how long the housing rally might last.

“Several members noted that household debt levels in the province remain an issue and that British Columbians may be more sensitive than other Canadians to eventual interest-rate increases due to comparatively larger mortgages in the province,” said the budget summary of the council’s views.

The council is forecasting that the province’s gross domestic product will improve by 2.6 per cent this year, higher than the government’s estimate of 2.3 per cent.

Bryan Yu, senior economist at Central 1 Credit Union, said in an interview that gains in interprovincial migration will aid B.C.’s housing market in general, though there could be lower demand for recreational properties from out-of-province buyers.

“There will be fewer people leaving B.C. for Alberta,” he said.

Mr. Yu noted that with the trend switching to B.C. gaining more people from other provinces rather than losing them, that helps keep demand high in Metro Vancouver’s property market in particular. “When you add more people every year, it creates more density and puts pressure on the land base,” he said.

Cultural Imperial posted:

The real secret is to get a job where you can work remotely most of the time.