BC Budget Surprised to see there was no thread on this. Highlights of how much life costs us: How the B.C. budget hits your family's pocketbook | CTV British Columbia My favorite. Falcon considers business tax hike to balance budget | CTV British Columbia "Falcon said he is prepared to raise the general corporate income tax rate to 11 per cent from 10 per cent in April 2014 if the budget situation doesn't show signs of improvement." So, we'll make business more expensive to operate in BC, because that will help a struggling economy. Here's a tip...eliminate the HST as soon as possible. I did find it interesting in one of the articles discussing the renovation industry seeking some assistance with the HST, and people putting off purchases to wait it out, he said something to the effect of, "well, help is coming in terms of returning the PST and reducing to a 5% sales tax as a result" which is the first admission that some industries were heavily affected by its introduction, in my opinion. What are everyone else's thoughts? I few gimmes for the groups that Clark would like to have vote for her. |
I'd prefer the HST was not eliminated in the first place. |
+1 for HST.. i kinda saw this coming since last year.. |
worst budget ever |
Wondering how did BC come in such bad shape financially? One of lowest wage for teachers + healthcare, massive debts, etc. Any cole's notes answer? |
Quote:
If business leaves, we have only ourselves to blame. Quote:
The home renovation and the home buying tax credits are crap. They only bring forward business by convincing people to buy now what they would have later. No-one is going to decide to do a $10K home reno to get a 10% tax credit, or buy a $400K home to get a $10K tax credit. Remember, its a tax credit, thus its not like you actually get 10% or $10K. More like you'll get 20% of that. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Do you think everyone is? Even if its not a conscious decision, but a "we had better wait right now" and later, with no HST, the decision is, now's a good time AND less tax. I really don't think this should be an HST argument really, but the BC economy as a whole, but this is the problem with a long waiting period to remove the HST. They are stalling, and I don't like it. They are using the increased revenue to balance their books, and hope to get the house in order before writing that 1 billion check to the feds. Or possibly hoping that it will get put off long enough that it just stays? Seems a little tin hat for my taste. One little gem that I liked from the budget is getting out of the liquor distribution business. Well, the actual warehouse distribution of it. Just the warehouses. Still...its a start. Tell me, why the fuck our government sells and distributes liquor. Tell me why these guys get paid something ridiculous to sell me booze? Start with the warehouses, and then go for the stores. One less union to deal with for a start. That's the kind of thinking we need more of. How can we get out of shit we don't need to be in? |
Quote:
I think they should've dropped it in 3 months, then hit all the income brackets with tax increases. The money has to come from somewhere, and people need to learn that. Quote:
We live in the "no fun province" thus I fully expect liquor sales to stay publicly controlled - to our detriment. I have a buddy in Ontario that works for the LCBO (Ontario liquor sales are public with the exception of small wine only stores) and was paid $40K+ with benefits to work the cash, and great benefits. How retarded is that? and booze prices in Ontario reflect the difference where a 24 of beer is ~$35 vs ~$25 in Quebexico corner stores. |
Quote:
Quote:
I moved here from Nova Scotia in 1998, and I don't know at this point that standing among my boxes picking a province to go to, that I would choose BC again. I was kind of hoping that NS would get their shit together, and I could end my exile, but they voted in NDP so that's not going to happen... |
while having this tax credit is good to get new home buyers into a home.. but Canada wants to be careful, if they get people who cant afford it into a homes, we will end up becoming like the states... foreclosures... JOBs need to pay more... which means employers have to charge more, which means more jobs will be closing to do being out of business.. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Small government this and that, it's all totally irrelevant. What matters is effective and efficient government, and since by your admission the government would not be as effective at regulating liqour sales if the system were entirely private, a change is totally pointless. The government can regulate anything and everything they want, as far as I'm concerned. Just as long as they do so in a cost effective manner that benefits the public. Quote:
I don't entirely disagree with you, Taylor, but I'm not quite as pessimistic. |
Why is it called the budget? Why not just call it what it is "This is how much of your tax dollars we're gonna waste mother f*ckers.. COME AT ME BRO..." |
Quote:
I have great credit and zero debt, so I can get a mortgage for ~8.5x earnings. That doesn't mean I should - yet I'm smart enough to make that decision cause I know if rates ever go up there's no way I could afford it - and cause I have good credit the bank doesn't care that I cannot afford it if rates go up. Most people in Canada take 5yr mortgages, so our rates reset then just like the ARM and Alt-A mortgages in the US. My friends that renewed in 2006/7 were surprised when they renewed at 6+% vs the ~4% they were expecting. Someone making $15/hr and listening to CFOX might not know all this like I do - and that's what contributed to the US collapse. People signed ARM and Alt-A mortgages without factoring in higher rates and got screwed. Quote:
|
Quote:
I routinely receive advertisements in the mail saying, "Do you make $15-18/hr, why are you renting?" I rent, mainly because I don't think it's a great time to buy a new condo, but it caught my interest and I went to an open house. The building it was advertising is a block from where I rent, so it was worth the time to walk over and get more info and appease my curiosity. The break down was something like this.. $155,000 for a 1 bed with a $500 mortgage for the first five years, requirement of 10% down, the interest rate was very low. Add $125 for condo fees, $50 for property taxes and you're in for $675/month. I live in Abbotsford, so the average rental price for an older 1 bedroom would be $675-750, with a relatively new 1 bedroom at $800-850. Therefore it actually works out to be monthly savings for the first five years, and given that a persons income should increase over that time, they should be doing okay when the mortgage is renewed at a higher rate. |
Quote:
Sure privatize all the stores then see how the prices will rise, people think they will drop not likely. |
Quote:
Quote:
Even if income increased, we're talking about 2-3% inflationary increases a year, which over 5 years gives you a few $$ more, while my friends that renewed at 6+% learned that inflation increases cannot make up for big rate increases. |
My thoughts: I would like the HST to stay, but since people voted it out, I'ld say increase Personal income tax rates to compensate for it. Don't touch corporate income tax rates, I think they are fine the way they are in BC and dont need to be increased. I say we should raise the property transfer taxes (not on first -time buyers), theres too many people that own 5+ houses for speculation purposes, this will prevent too many speculators from buying and flipping and help prevent a larger economic downturn if property prices start decreasing, cause lets face it, if there is a property bubble and we see more foreclosures, it will affect all of us. I would prefer a more stable real estate market. |
I'm for more transparancy before raising any taxes. |
Quote:
I won't make generalizations about the proportion of buyers capable of putting down 10%, although it's really not a massive sum of money. The monthly mortgage for those buyers who could was $450-500 month, that's what the developers affordability calculations are based on and for the purposes of this discussion nothing else is relevant. The condo fee is low in part because the building is located in Abbotsford, it's pretty comparable with all other buildings in the area. Not to mention, it's a new building with a warranty, so there shouldn't be any major condo assessments in the length of term the buyers would likely own the property for. Thanks for the $950 number, but not accurate and not relevant to the point of contention. Quote:
The primary target of the developer is young professionals however, whose wages generally maintain a steady increase before plateauing. I know my income has steadily increased, as has my girlfriend's, and most of my friends. Based on that, it's not unreasonable to factor in a wage increase over a five year term. Alt-As are marketed to people who really shouldn't have a mortgage to begin with. ARMs aren't great, I see the basis of your argument, but they aren't terrible. They can be totally fine if the person is prepared for a mortgage rate increase at the renewal date, it's not like the increase is a surprise. |
I think Taylor192 is bang on, but they're also not lying about being able to buy for the price of renting. Though they exclude costs of home ownership. I moved from renting a 2 bedroom apartment to buying a 2 bedroom townhouse for about the same cost 3 years ago. Just so you guys get your numbers right, here's how it breaks down for my actual mortgage for my townhouse. I purchased when I was making $23.75/hour but I also had a lot of debt at the time. Most banks wouldn't come close to my current interest rate either, I'm thankful to my mortgage broker. My own bank wouldn't loan to me without jumping through a lot of hoops and without a 6+% interest rate. I regret buying so young though because I want to move now and this house is an anchor. It's also not appreciating at all. Total loan amount: $161,687.62 Loan amount (after downpayment): $156,750 Interest rate: 3.79% fixed (5 years) Payments (biweekly inc. property taxes): $374.56 Strata fee: $170/month Insurance (required): $26/month So ~$945.12 per month (a little more since I pay biweekly). I was renting a 2 bedroom apartment for $950/month previously. It included garbage pickup and water though, which costs me ~$75/month in my new place. When major repairs are done however, the owners foot part of the bill in a special levy (with the rest coming from the strata contingency reserve fund). So there are different costs that come up some years. Painting the buildings will cost me $897.04 this year. Edt: At my current income, that's acceptable. But I like having money, so I rent out my spare room. If you're not debt free making over $20/hour, I think renting the spare room out would be necessary. |
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
It is clearly aimed at people who work retail, like Safeway, who have little hope of promotion to deal with any rate increase. |
Quote:
You can't modify one portion of the developers affordability equation then criticize another. The developer bases the statement that it is affordable for a person making $15 dollars an hour if the person has a 10% down payment, if the person has only 5% down, then that would raise the mortgage payment and in turn annual income required. Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
If anything, these areas are ripe for big drops if the market starts to falter. They are not nice areas, and once people stop believing "house prices only go up" they'll see deals in nicer areas and less reason to take risk on "up and coming" areas. You can look at the US for examples of this, and now China. Your optimism is misplaced. Quote:
|
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:38 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
SEO by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.
Revscene.net cannot be held accountable for the actions of its members nor does the opinions of the members represent that of Revscene.net