^ Same with property tax. Can't do much about that either.

Bullshit on your Bullshit. My exes dad paid nearly $100k each year in personal taxes, you tell me why he should contribute more to the province/ federal government. I bitch about taxes as much as the next guy, but I'm not ignorant enough to think the rich don't contribute more than I do, and nor should you be.

^^ that's an obvious one. I think everyone on here knows Mickz is totally wrong.

The top 10% of earners pay over 50% of the total tax.

the bottom 50% of income earners pay something like 5% of the overal tax.

I've seen someone pay $1.6 million dollars in income tax to the CRA last year. The majority of the population will make that much . . their whole life.

the news said last night that icbc is looking into the hst and might make us pay more then we already do for insurance... FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

+1 :thumbsup:

I hate discussions my old coworkers who were Liberal/NDP (left) supporters. They would constantly berate me on Conservative policy that cut social spending. I would always argue they aren't paying their fair share, they demand more social services yet want others to pay for them, ie: I made 50% more than them, yet paid 90% more in taxes.

Income taxes are at the lowest in a couple decades, yet people still don't save and spend it on flat screen TVs, leasing luxury cars, and eating out - all while demanding more services and less taxes. If consumption taxes change this, its for the better.

taylor192 is right - if people are complaining about a consumption tax increase, then perhaps they should save more? In fact, I'm surprised that he's so Keynesian about economic policy since, you know, that went out of fashion in the 1970s.

If politicians had to consult the general public on every decsion they made, nothing would ever get done because for the most part, the general public is largely ignorant of the complexities of economic and social policies. For an example of the public's ignorance, we only need to look at what's happening in the States with their health care debate that has been hijacked by a bunch of buffoons who are comparing revised health insurance schemes to Hitler's policies.

If I had been a fly on the wall in the offices of the economists working in BC's Finance Ministry for the last several years, I would have probably seen countless briefing notes urging the Cabinet to implement the HST. I'll say it again - the best decisions are seldom the most popular.

That's largely true, but it's also healthy to have some sort of buy in from the public since they are such a large stakeholder. The problem is that it's not easy to do, you're right, because of the buffoons who always come out. One big upside to the health care debate in the US is that the public overall is a lot more informed than they would have been had this debate not taken place. A less ignorant public is always good since they're the ones who vote. Too bad the culture in politics is usually so corrupt? narrow-minded? power hungry? I don't know what to call it.

If the Liberals were so absolutely confident in the HST, why didn't they announce their plans to implement it in their campaign before the last election?

Pretty smart of them, IMO. Look at all the ignorant overreactions to this. Had they announced it before, we'd be stuck with the fucking NDP probably.

Fuck the PST
Fuck the GST
Fuck the HST
Fuck property tax
Fuck MSP
Fuck Income Tax (which was suppose to be a temporary tax anyway)
Fuck Carbon Tax


The thing is, it's only going to get worse and there is no way around it. You can vote for any person you like, you can complain all you want, in the end, it's all going to be the same. The plan is to slide taxes in left right and center so that YOU are someone else's bitch

/rant

Income tax is at decade lows.

GST, HST, and carbon tax are consumption taxes. You should pay for what you use, and that's not just the sale price. You should pay all environment, health, admin, disposal, ... costs associated with that item.

Property tax pays for infrastructure, if you want to avoid it, there's lots of shacks in the woods.

MSP is paid by many employers, mine does. If you want to avoid paying it, get a better job. Its cheap coverage, lookup how much it'll cost you in the US.

Basically you don't want to pay tax, yet you want roads, hospitals, schools, police, ... sorry to tell you, it doesn't work that way.

Speaking on the voting, honestly speaking how many people actually saw a FIRM platform the political parties are really fighting for, and if you did, how many people actually agreed with the ideologies/platforms of the liberals or the NDP. If you were to listen to the chinese radio/tv for debates, they have a bit of trouble explaining this to the community.

the voting turnout for hte last provincial election was horrible.

I have a buddy that works for the gov't in Victoria, and he has stated, even tho the facts and numbers are true, that it will help the economy grow, the short term effects of this will hurt ALOT of people. sadly, the truth is, international business persons that work outside of Vancouver will spend their money here regardless because THEY have the money. its the HONEST citizens of the city that are going to suffer short term, and partially be saved in the long run by outside money paying for the HST.

truth be told, IF infact, this was policy was given to the public before any decisions were made in victoria, the HST would not been initialized and put to action as quickly as this would and quite possibly another election would be looming

like I said before, we're fucked and there's nothing we can do about it. Just have to suck it up

+ 1

Both parties ran with no platform, or to some citizens, some very confusing theories. Then theres the people who just live here and dont give a shit and swollow EVERYTHING the Gov't throws at them.

Someone made a good point on this the other day on the radio: if you go with an "under the table" contractor, don't expect any warranty or after-the-job support. Don't be surprised if the guy takes the cash and bolts. And don't expect you can take the guy to court if you agreed to have him do the job under the table - it would require admitting you were trying to do an end-run around the tax man and is guaranteed to win you an audit.

Consumer support for the underground economy will always be spotty, because there's no support for the consumer in it.