Tax Dollars Wasted Archives - Page 6 of 9

Government wants to tax your internet

June 15, 2017

OTTAWA — A parliamentary committee studying Canada’s slumping media industry will reportedly call for a five per cent tax on broadband Internet services to boost a sector struggling to adapt to technological changes and evolving consumer habits.

The Globe and Mail, citing Liberal and opposition sources, says the new levy is at the core of a majority report of the Canadian Heritage Committee to be released today.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the report is not yet public. The tax would be on top of sales taxes you already pay.

B.C. notaries offer tips to protect seniors from financial abuse

June 13, 2017

Canada is getting older, and with an aging population, comes more people looking to prey on seniors.

In September 2016, Statistics Canada reported that more than 15 per cent of Canada’s population was over 65; it was 7.6 per cent in 1960.

In fact, people aged 85 years and over now make up the fastest growing age group in Canada — this portion of the population grew by 127 per cent between 1993 and 2013.

Delta homeowners stunned by huge tax increases

May 31, 2017

Tsawwassen residents Ron and Verna Neufeld couldn’t believe their eyes when they opened their 2017 property tax bill and discovered it had gone up over 25 per cent in one year.

“As seniors on a fixed income, it’s a little bit shocking to get this kind of increase,” said Ron, 85.

Last year the Neufelds paid $3,269.65 in property taxes but this year they’ll be forking out $4,093.98, an increase of $824.

“That’s approaching $100 a month out of our budget. We certainly did not budget for that,” said Ron.

The impact of a federal carbon tax on Canadian businesses

May 29, 2017

The federal government recently announced that it is implementing a federal carbon tax starting at $10 per metric tonne in 2018, which will increase by $10 per metric tonne of GHG emissions every year until hitting the $50 per metric tonne mark in 2022.

The carbon tax will come into effect in any provinces that do not have a carbon tax in place by 2018. This currently includes Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.

Opponents grill Ont. Liberals over $200,000 rubber duck

May 29, 2017

TORONTO — An Ontario government grant of about $120,000 that is going toward a giant rubber duck for Canada 150 celebrations is ruffling some feathers.

The six-storey-tall, 13,600-kilogram yellow duck is being brought to Toronto by the Redpath Waterfront Festival, at a total cost of $200,000, combining other funding such as corporate sponsorship.

It’s being billed as a tourist attraction — with particular Instagram and selfie appeal — and will also be taken to other communities in Ontario.

Eight revenue agency workers fired for roles in privacy breaches: CRA

May 22, 2017

The Canada Revenue Agency says eight of its employees were fired in the last fiscal year after violating taxpayers’ privacy.

Previously, the agency has not always confirmed if an employee was fired or shuffled out of the CRA for being part of a privacy breach, often citing the employee’s privacy.

A spokesman for the agency says the employees in each case were found to have had unauthorized access to taxpayer information, including one incident that the CRA calls the largest such breach in the agency’s history.

It’s not a carbon tax, it’s a ‘behaviour-changing measure’: government officials

May 18, 2017

The Liberal government today released the carbon-pricing scheme it will impose on any province or territory that, by spring 2018, doesn’t have its own comparable scheme in place.

As of today, 97 per cent of Canadians live in provinces that either already have a price on carbon pollution, or are planning and working toward it, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Thursday.

The three per cent of Canadians left out of that equation are in Saskatchewan – the one province that continues to hold out on signing on to the Trudeau government’s climate change plan.

Don’t be duped by Trudeau’s carbon pricing plan

May 18, 2017

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon pricing plan released Thursday by Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna is a political fraud.

It will not achieve the government’s promised industrial greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2020 or 2030.

It will increase the cost of living for Canadians, adding hundreds of dollars to their annual household bills, year after year.

The plan says that by 2022, we will be paying an estimated 11.6 cents more per litre of gas alone, solely due to carbon pricing.

Canadians with disabilities face alarmingly high tax rates, new report reveals

May 11, 2017

A new report reveals that low-income working Canadians with disabilities are facing tax rates of over 100% and advocates say that has to change.

The alarming report from the Library of Parliament shows that federal and provincial taxes combined with various benefit clawbacks make many working disabled taxpayers worse off for working longer hours, getting raises or in some cases even working in the first place.

It’s an issue that disability advocates have long known about, but this marks the first time it’s been formally tabulated by the government.

How to protect seniors against financial abuse

April 3, 2017

March was Fraud Prevention Month in Canada and the federal government is still reminding Canadians to be on guard against offers that seem too good to be true. Seniors, in particular, can become victims of various forms of fraud. Those who are isolated are even more at risk.

Scammers target seniors with several kinds of fraud, from telephone and email scams to fraudulent telemarketing.

One of the easiest ways for seniors to protect themselves from fraud is to order a credit report every year from Canada’s credit reporting agencies, Equifax and TransUnion. A credit report will show when someone else has opened credit cards or loans in your name. While powers of attorney and joint bank accounts can help seniors and those who care for them manage and protect their finances, these tools can be abused by people in positions of trust.