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taxes

Tuesday February 27, 2024

February 27, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

Canada's complicated tax system is leaving the middle class burdened, with promises of simplification unmet, calling for urgent reform.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 27, 2024

The Taxing Reality: Navigating Canada’s Complicated Tax System

March 27, 2023

As Canadians gear up for another tax season, the reality of our complex and burdensome tax system is hitting home harder than ever. The sticker shock of expenses and the painstaking process of crunching numbers have left many wondering, “Am I really better off than I was five years ago?” For most, the answer seems to be a resounding “no.”

The Trudeau government’s promise to have the backs of the middle class appears to be wearing thin. The supposed mantra of “we’ve got Canadians’ backs” feels more like a hollow slogan when confronted with the ever-increasing tax burdens and the rising cost of living. It’s a bitter pill to swallow when the mantra shifts from “work to live” to a more ominous “live to work” just to keep up with the Joneses.

Illustrating the absurdity of our tax system is our editorial cartoon featuring “Reap and Thoreau Tax Consultants.” A scruffy, fur-wrapped individual, armed with snowshoes and a stick, hands over a tax return package with a smirk, suggesting the solution to the complexity is a radical embrace of the “Drop out of Society Pioneer” lifestyle.

News: The 2024 tax season has kicked off – Here’s what you need to know

January 20, 2023

The New Zealand approach to taxes highlights how much simpler the process could be. Cross-referencing existing information, they automatically calculate tax returns, sparing citizens the bureaucratic labyrinth that is the Canadian tax system. The Auditor General’s revelation that CRA call centres provide incorrect information nearly 30% of the time further underscores the convoluted nature of our tax process.

The Trudeau government’s promise of free, automatic tax filing for simple returns remains unfulfilled, leaving taxpayers drowning in paperwork. One-time payouts like the Grocery Rebate and the Canada Dental Benefit require meticulous tax filing, creating additional hurdles for citizens already grappling with an intricate system.

The Montreal Economic Institute’s critique points out that the Canadian tax system is among the costliest in OECD countries. Despite acknowledging the problem, little has been done to simplify it. Even the Conservative government before Trudeau’s Liberals failed to alleviate the burden.

The complexity of the tax system is not just a bureaucratic inconvenience; it’s a significant financial burden. The Fraser Institute estimated that, factoring in time, accounting fees, and software costs, Canadians pay about $500 each just to fulfill their tax obligations.

While the United States faces a similar issue, driven in part by lobbying from tax-filing companies, Canada’s situation appears to be rooted in an unwillingness to simplify a tax code that hasn’t seen substantial changes in over 50 years. The number of tax credits and benefits continues to increase, making the system even more intricate.

Even Chartered Professional Accountants Canada, among the primary beneficiaries of the complex tax code, acknowledges that the system has gone too far. The bureaucratic hurdles prevent benefits from reaching low-income individuals, adding an extra layer of injustice to an already flawed system.

News: Canadian taxes aren’t just high, they’re needlessly complicated to file

October 12, 2017

As the 2024 tax season kicks off, Canadians are left grappling with changes and additions, such as the FHSA deductions and alterations to home office claims. The comments from disgruntled taxpayers underlining the lack of transparency and accountability in the tax system echo a sentiment that resonates with many.

It’s time for tax reform to be a top priority. A move towards a flat income tax and a reduction in capital gains tax could stimulate investment and simplify the lives of hardworking Canadians. The tax system, which began as a temporary measure to fund WWI, has grown into an unmanageable behemoth. The social engineering aspect of the tax system further complicates matters, emphasizing the need for a fundamental shift in our approach.

As Canadians face yet another taxing season, it’s clear that the current system is not working for the middle class. The promise of a simplified, streamlined process seems distant, leaving taxpayers to navigate a labyrinth of paperwork and confusion. It’s time for politicians to take action and prioritize the needs of the people over the complexities of an outdated tax code.

 

Posted in: Canada, International, USA Tagged: 2024-04, accountant, Canada, CRA, DIY, head for the hills, income tax, minimalism, mountain man, tax reform, taxes, thoreau

Helping the Hosers

February 18, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Illustration by Graeme MacKay – Friday February 17, 2023

Bob & Doug McKenzie take on a beer tax hike

A couple of hosers are telling the Liberal government to take off over its plans to introduce a 6.3% tax increase for beer in April.

July 23, 2004

Working with scriptwriters Larry MacInnis and former MacLean’s humour columnist Scott Feschuk, actors Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas have resurrected their beloved Canadiana characters Bob and Doug McKenzie for a series of scrappy, quick-turnaround radio ads that use their trademark humour to take on the planned tax increase.

The national radio campaign is from Beer Canada, an advocacy organization representing 50 brewers ranging in size from the Canadian divisions of the global multinationals, to regional brewers and what president CJ Hélie describes as a “smattering” of the country’s small craft brewers.

It is one of the first public outreach campaigns from Beer Canada as part of a new communications mandate under Hélie, a longtime beverage alcohol executive who joined the organization in 2021. “I believe that to be successful in government advocacy, you need to convince the public and the general electorate,” said Hélie. “You will see us continually out talking to consumers from now on.”

October 15, 2021

Beer Canada was looking for a way to deliver its message in a way that would resonate with consumers, and perhaps even get the attention of the country’s MPs, said Hélie. “We thought we had a really good message, but who would be the messenger?

“So we thought ‘How can we raise the level of discourse out there?’ We were going back and forth on ideas, when [Beer Canada’s vice-president of strategic communications] Karine Cousineau said ‘What about Bob and Doug McKenzie.?”

The McKenzie Brothers were once familiar faces in Canadian ad-land, appearing in campaigns for brands including Pizza Hut Canada, Mr. Lube, Molson Golden, and Molson Ice (alongside the late hockey great Guy Lafleur).

However, Moranis and Thomas have largely retired the characters, who last appeared publicly in a 2017 benefit for Spinal Cord Injury Ontario. Their last TV appearance was a 2007 CBC Television special entitled Bob & Doug McKenzie’s Two-Four Anniversary.

Cousineau reached out to their agents, and got a call from Moranis later that day. “He said, ‘I understand you’re looking to perhaps bring Bob and Doug back together,’” said Hélie. “That’s very unlikely, since we haven’t done anything in a long time, but what’s your pitch?’”

September 24, 2015

Hélie said the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids star was immediately receptive to appearing in ads addressing a tax that would drive up the price of beer, which was basically an uncredited third star of their appearances as Bob and Doug McKenzie.

Recorded remotely last week, with Moranis in New York and Thomas in Los Angeles, the three 30-second spots feature Bob and Doug repeating some of their signature refrains, including “coo loo coo coo, coo coo coo coo”  and “How’s it goin’, eh?” while railing against the beer tax.

In one spot, Doug (Thomas) suggests that the government consider taxing other things instead, such as yams, confetti, or liver. “Leave beer alone, eh,” he says. In another, he says that the beer tax is already like his brother’s head, overinflated.

Hélie sat in on the one-hour recording session, and said his impression was that Moranis and Thomas don’t talk often now that they live on opposite coasts, yet were able to easily slip into their respective characters. “They started riffing on potential lines they might use, and our writers were taking notes like crazy,” he said. Almost all of the ads were ad-libbed during an initial brainstorming session.

February 12, 2015

The ads drive to a dedicated site, HereForBeer.ca, where consumers can contact their local MP asking them to stop the beer tax hike. The site also features a cartoon rendering of the two characters created by Graeme MacKay, an editorial cartoonist at The Hamilton Spectator.

Since Bob and Doug were at the height of their popularity when beer was sold in “stubbies,” it’s not surprising that the campaign is largely aimed at older Canadians (as well as Members of Parliament). The media buy is largely focused on AM talk and news stations, with an emphasis on Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Atlantic Canada (a region that tends to over-index on brewing).

And if everything goes according to plan, true loves all across Canada won’t have to overpay for the “six packs of two-four” Bob and Doug sing about in their version of “Twelve Days of Christmas.” (The Message) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2023-03, Beer, bob and doug mckenzie, Canada, dave thomas, hoser, inflation, rick moraines, SCTV, taxes

Tuesday June 22, 2021

June 29, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 22, 2021

After a year of pandemic prudence, Canadians likely eager to spend the billions saved

If there is one silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic for Grayham Havens, it was celebrating his two-year anniversary with his wife by purchasing a house last month.

January 18, 2018

All the government restrictions during the pandemic helped him drastically reduce his spending over the last year and begin socking away cash every month. After clearing leftover debt, the couple saved enough for a down payment.

Now, at the age of 40, Havens is a first-time home owner.

“We’re so fortunate, very fortunate, to get something like this,” he said about their grey bungalow in southeast Calgary, complete with a large deck, fire pit and pond in the backyard.

Havens isn’t alone. Canadians have saved a record amount of money during the pandemic, resulting from the combined impact of reduced spending and collecting more money from government support programs.

Havens and his wife were both able to collect Alberta’s critical worker benefit, as he was working in the grocery sector and she was involved in health care.

At the same time, their discretionary expenses — spending at places like restaurants and movie theatres — dropped sharply.

“We started saving thousands every month,” he said. “It started making me realize just how bad we were budgeting our own money in the first place. I mean, money was leaking left and right.”

Not everyone has extra money in the bank — but many do.

In fact, Canadians amassed $212 billion last year, versus $18 billion in 2019, according to Statistics Canada. That works out to $5,574 per Canadian on average in 2020, compared to $479 in the previous year.

The average savings rate jumped from 1.3 per cent of disposable income in 2019, to 14.9 per cent in 2020. In April, May and June of 2020, the savings rate peaked at about 27 per cent.

As a result, credit card balances are down, fewer people are behind on payments and credit scores are up, according to credit rating agency Equifax Canada.

The situation varies greatly from household to household, as there continues to be a deep division between the financial situation of many Canadians. In short, if you were able to keep your job and stay healthy, you were likely to see your finances improve during the pandemic.

“It was easy to save. It was not very forced. I can’t go get my nails done, get my hair done, going to the pubs a lot less,” said Karen Jacobs, who also purchased her first house, with her husband, in February.

They are now renovating the home from top to bottom after saving nearly $1,000 a month during the pandemic, including through lower phone and insurance bills.

The record level of savings is not the only reason behind Canada’s rising home prices, but it could provide a significant level of economic stimulus across the country. (CBC) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2021-22, Canada, cost of living, covid-19, inflation, pandemic, Pandemic Times, piggy bank, price hikes, savings, taxes, Wheel of Fortune

Tuesday September 29, 2020

October 6, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 29, 2020

Long-Concealed Records Show Trump’s Chronic Losses and Years of Tax Avoidance

Donald J. Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in the White House, he paid another $750.

October 4, 2016

He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.

As the president wages a re-election campaign that polls say he is in danger of losing, his finances are under stress, beset by losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due that he has personally guaranteed. Also hanging over him is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million.

March 26, 2019

The tax returns that Mr. Trump has long fought to keep private tell a story fundamentally different from the one he has sold to the American public. His reports to the I.R.S. portray a businessman who takes in hundreds of millions of dollars a year yet racks up chronic losses that he aggressively employs to avoid paying taxes. Now, with his financial challenges mounting, the records show that he depends more and more on making money from businesses that put him in potential and often direct conflict of interest with his job as president.

June 2, 2020

The New York Times has obtained tax-return data extending over more than two decades for Mr. Trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization, including detailed information from his first two years in office. It does not include his personal returns for 2018 or 2019.

The COVID-19 Pandemic

The returns are some of the most sought-after, and speculated-about, records in recent memory. In Mr. Trump’s nearly four years in office — and across his endlessly hyped decades in the public eye — journalists, prosecutors, opposition politicians and conspiracists have, with limited success, sought to excavate the enigmas of his finances. By their very nature, the filings will leave many questions unanswered, many questioners unfulfilled. They comprise information that Mr. Trump has disclosed to the I.R.S., not the findings of an independent financial examination. They report that Mr. Trump owns hundreds of millions of dollars in valuable assets, but they do not reveal his true wealth. Nor do they reveal any previously unreported connections to Russia. (Continued: New York Times) 

 

Posted in: USA Tagged: 2020-32, Benjamin Franklin, cliche, death, Donald Trump, marble, Mark Twain, quote, sharpie, taxes, USA

Thursday September 12, 2019

September 19, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

September 12, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 12, 2019

There is deep angst in Canada ahead of this fall’s election

We may have voted for hope, optimism and sunny days in 2015 but Canadians don’t appear to be very optimistic heading into the Fall of 2019.

August 14, 2014

Canadians do see a strong economy right now. Assessment of their personal finances has gone from 32 per cent positive (Q4 2015) to 46 per cent today and their assessment of their job security has grown from 39 per cent positive (Q4 2015) to 52 per cent today.

On the eve of the writ dropping, one would assume from these numbers that the federal Liberals would very much like to have the 2019 ballot question be: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

But it won’t be, because despite these views and some impressive economic numbers at the macro level, Canadians aren’t optimistic about their longer-term prospects. Pocket-book issues and concerns over affordability are a common thread connecting most of the top issues Canadians identify as priorities: healthcare, the economy, housing, climate change, and taxes.

Our concerns are more than economic. There is deep angst about the direction of the country. Canadians are questioning the value and the very role of government, politicians and political parties in their lives and many politicians are going to run into the buzz saw of growing cynicism once they start knocking on doors. For starters:

January 3, 2014

* 67 per cent (unchanged since 2016) agree that the country’s economy is rigged to the advantage of the rich and powerful

* 61 per cent (vs. 56 per cent in 2016) agree that “traditional parties and politicians don’t care about people like me”

* 57 per cent (vs. in 47 per cent November 2016) say the country is “going in the wrong direction”

* 52 per cent (up dramatically from 37 per cent in 2016) agree that “Canadian society is broken”

This level of angst and cynicism among Canadians is going to pose a challenge for all political parties. Delivering policy ideas along with messaging to motivate supporter turn-out will be difficult, and they will need to find a balance between positive, forward-looking messages and empathetic, “we get you now” messages.

Imagine if you were a federal candidate hearing this at the door while looking for a vote: “I think the economy is stacked against me, I don’t think you care about me, I think our society is broken and our country is headed in the wrong direction. Tell me how you are going to fix this and why I should vote for you?” (Global News) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: #elxn2019, 2019-32, banks, bills, Canada, climate change, election, ethics, issues, poll, survey, taxes, values
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This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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