The top federal tax rate in the US is 37% and doesn’t click in until income soars past $500,000. In Canada, combined with provincial tax, folks making over $220,000 pay up to 54%. Of course some states (California, NY, for example) have high state taxes so ‘wealthy’ people in fact give over half their income in taxes. But some states (like Florida) have no local tax. So the rich stay that way.
Of course, Americans can deduct a portion of their municipal taxes and even mortgage interest from federal tax payable. There’s no HST. Mortgage rates are locked in for 30 years, but fully open to be negotiated lower if the cost of money falls over that time.
What about health coverage? Just over 91% of Americans are covered. The vast majority of those have health care plans subsidized in whole or part by employers. For those who pay their own, the average premium is about $800 per month for a family.
Capital gains? Here 50% of the profit you make selling an asset is added to taxable income. So for most people the tax would be between 15% and 20%. For 1%ers, it rises to a max of 27%. In the US gains on stuff you owned for a year or less are taxed as income. If the gain is on something held longer, the rate is 0% for people making about $40,000 or less and 15% for those earning up to $425,000.
So, Americans pay less tax. Wealthy ones hand over considerably less. More people in Canada have health care, but many critics say medical services here are rationed, as evidenced by long wait times and the fact it takes years to be assigned a family doctor in most locations.
But what about incomes?
The median family income in the States is $59,040 – that’s $78,200 in beaver bucks. The median income here is a little over $71,000.
And housing? The average house in Canada sells for $455,000, says CREA. In the US the median price (averages are elusive) is $253,600 – or $336,300 Canadian. The median price in Chicago, for example (population 3 million) is $228,500. The average in Toronto is $748,300 (that’s $564,900 US$).
So, as you can see, fish and bicycles are not easily compared. However Canada and the US have two of the most similar economies on the planet, in which people make about the same amount but in which governments act quite differently. Canada has a debt of $690 billion while Washington owes $22 trillion. Americans spend $639 billion a year on defense. We spend $25 billion. Retired people in the US receive an average of $1,422 a month in social security (that’s $1,910 Canadian). The average in Canada for CPP and OAS combined is $1,226.
The big winner among Canadians in the Tax Sweeps are couples with kids. The Canada Child Benefit is significantly richer than the US equivalent (the Earned Income Tax Credit) which fizzles out by the time family income hits the mid-$40,000 range. In contrast here’s how much our families collect, and how the current T2 government has enriched this tax-free freebie.
This program took effect in the summer of 2016 and costs $22 billion a year, a massive transfer of wealth to people with children, considering that 40% of Canadians pay no net federal income tax. There are no strings on this cash – families can spend it on anything from the mortgage, to day care to a new car or a Vegas vaca. This unconditional approach makes some people wonder why the government pays people to have children, but not necessarily to raise them.
Well, what’s the point of this post?
Simply to remind that there are but 10 days left to make an RRSP contribution in order to reduce 2018 taxable income. If you’re one of households that actually do pay tax, and especially if you’re in the top 10% of income-earning families that carry a disproportionate amount of the load, do it. This is the only tax shelter which benefits the wealthy more than the wanting. Incomes of around $140,000 and beyond generate over $26,000 per year in RRSP room – and that can be deducted 100% from taxable income.
Remember that RRSPs are tax-shifting beasts. Use them to reduce tax during the good years, then draw them down during the lean (sabbatical, job loss, maternity leave, training, screw-this-I’m-off-to-Morocco etc.). You can use a spousal plan to dump your contribution room into the plan of a less-taxed partner, reducing family tax. Existing assets may be used to make a contribution in kind. Yes, get a refund for selling yourself stuff you already owned. You can borrow money to put into an RRSP, use the refund to pay down the loan, creating wealth from nothing. And all growth within the plan happens sans tax of any kind.
Why would you not wish to do this? Unless, of course, the government gives you more than you pay. Hopefully you are filled with remorse.
129 comments ↓
Race to 900k.
I have featured these guys trying to sell one of the cheapest options in Burnaby a couple of times, and their continuing struggles to exit the market.
The last time I featured these guys was when they lowered the price to 1.08 after starting off at 1.24.
Now they are sub one million at 988k.
The last time I featured these guys I also mentioned that after purchasing this place for 875k in 2015, that their paper equity was starting to smoulder, and the longer this goes on the more of a chance this has of ending up as a Pink Draw, even though originally this was all about price discovery at the bottom of the Burnaby market.
5431 Manor st, Burnaby.
Originally asking 1.24
Now asking 988k
Assessment 2018 911k
Assessment 2017 969k
Over 8 months and still no sale is perhaps also a telling factor of the state of the current market.
Still asking above assessment after receiving a rollback but now being sub one million they now appear to be in a position to attract a buyer as the bottom rung in that city dips below the mental marker.
Paying a million dollars for houses like this, perhaps we are all mental…
M44BC
https://www.zolo.ca/burnaby-real-estate/5431-manor-street
https://www.rew.ca/insights/267073/5431-manor-street-burnaby-bc
The government wants to ensure enough debt slaves are raised in the next generation but they are way too stingy.
Nice politically correct approach (of course) to exclude crown corporations liabilities and provincial debt from governmental debt that will make it above 90 % of GDP and of course not to include private debt in the comparison.
What they give to people with kids goes away as mortgage to the banks, nothing is left.
This article is very taxing…
M44BC
“This Map Shows the Average Tax Refund in Every State.
The 2018 tax season is off to a slow start. According to the IRS, refunds are 8% lower than last year, and taxpayers appear to be taking their time filing their returns.
But refunds will likely still run as high as two or three thousand dollars. Exactly how big your refund will be depends entirely on where you live, a subject that our latest map breaks down in detail.
The last day to file your 2018 taxes without an extension is Monday, April 15, 2019.
The average tax refund is over $2,700, but the amount differs wildly by state.
There are regional patterns in tax refunds, suggesting that conditions in similar states determine the size of refunds.
Special thanks to Business Insider for collecting the data from the IRS. Keep in mind these figures are for federal refunds only from 2018. A lot of people also receive refunds from their state governments too, meaning there’s potentially a lot more money flowing back to taxpayers each year than even our figures illustrate. Even so, a lot can be said about tax policies just by looking at our map.
First of all, there’s substantial variability in average refunds depending on where you live. Texans are in store for the largest refunds at $3,206, while Mainers are set for the lowest at $2,336. That’s a spread of nearly $1,000, enough money to make a real dent in credit card debt or start saving for retirement.
We can also see some regional patterns in the average size of tax refunds. There’s a band of states stretching across the northern part of the country where average taxpayers can expect to receive relatively less than their Southern counterparts. In general, the further South you move, the higher your refund. There is an obvious exception to the rule in the Northeast, where high-tax states like New York and Massachusetts nevertheless enjoy sizeable federal tax refunds.
There are lots of underlying reasons explaining these differences. The federal government has lots of different tax policies favoring specific behaviors, like owning a home, having children and giving money to charity. The Earned Income Tax Credit is an additional benefit for low-income filers that juices tax returns. If you are a childless renter who never gives to charity despite having a high-paying job, your tax refund will probably be quite low.
To be sure, getting a tax refund feels like a windfall, but in reality it’s an interest-free loan that you’re giving the government. It would be much better to file your return and get a refund of $0, meaning you paid your exact tax liability, and nothing more, throughout the entire year. Instead of getting a nice check from Uncle Sam this spring, you would’ve had more money to spend throughout all of 2018.”
https://howmuch.net/articles/avarage-tax-refund-in-every-state
Very good article as usual Garth. One argument can go in favor of this wealth distribution ( child benefit) is it help is consumer spending which is considered th engine of economy. This money going into higher income people’ pocket may not get spent.
Any merit to this argument?
Yes. Scotia bank economists point to it as fiscal stimulus. – Garth
Garth, I lost you at healthcare.
Trust me brother. We’ve all known people whom suffered from catastrophic failures in health (premature pregnancies, cancer, stroke, a traumatic incident).
Canada does very little to take care of mental health. We all know this. But if any of the above happens you are in a great place.
Imagine becoming bankrupt in your 50s because your wife develops breast cancer? Or being a 30 year old professional whom parent suffered a stroke? I know youre a finance guy ( and journalist) through and through
But if you don’t have REAL coverage down there you are hooped. Don’t downplay that for a blog post.
Signed,
A loyal and appreciative reader.
#1 For those about to flop… on 02.17.19 at 4:09 pm
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IMHO, this house may worth CAD 98.8K max, 1/10th of the list price.
It’s why I moved my business, my family, and my assets to Florida.
Canada is broke and all levels of govts are going to either have a sovereign debt crisis or tax the crap out of you.
Clearly htey will do the latter first. Then go bankrupt after all teh welath creators leave.
As they are doing now.
The reason they can give more Child Benefit money is that a majority don’t have any:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/census-2016-statscan/article35861448/
Apparently due to “greater individualism and changing gender roles”.
From the map, I say blame the Québécois.
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I liked the dog family photo, “beaver bucks” (in the days before political correctness, you could have some fun with those words) and WTF: “fish and bicycles” (leaning on the 420 there Garth)?
Ya I know, Buonanotte.
Hi Garth,
Love the blog and appreciate these friendly tax time reminders.
You mentioned in your Feb 3 blog “Just Watch” that you ‘will explain soon how financial portfolios should prepare’ for a slowing economy/GDP growth.
I look forward to reading it!
Sigh.
Boomers are now forced to pay for the children of Millenials .
Just when we thought we had rid ourselves of the Millenial cash grab…..
Will the Millenials ever pay their fair share?
Eventually when the last Boomer breathes their final death rattle and the inhieritence money is squandered on botox injections, piercings, and tattoos……
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanrabimov/2018/02/27/the-millennial-approach-to-remaining-young-beautiful/
And a one and a two and a three…………
Must be a sign.. My accountant texts me this morning “RRSPs, chop chop”..and now garth.
Fine..I’ll do it tomorrow.
Garth,
Does it still make sense to contribute to the RRSP at the extremes ?
Eg 1: 40K annual income – you can not be in a lower tax bracket even if you take a year off or retire.
Eg 2: 100K annual dividend income – even if you take a year off or retire, the passive portfolio income covers your expenses and you do not need to empty the RRSP.
Thanks
# 71 Vampire studies (from yesterday)
“We have to remember what constitutes a bubble… It is not just price… The house price to income ratio is, in my opinion, a strongly indicative metric.”
*********************************
Do you perhaps have a medical reason for forgetting what we’ve discussed in our back and forth? Or are you simply being dishonest – or perhaps even trolling (trolls always deny that they are trolling) – in an attempt to distract from the fact that you can’t produce any verifiable facts from any credible sources to back your claims which are aimed at proving my facts wrong?
Did you honestly forget that I have repeatedly talked about the price to income ratio (and how it defines a housing bubble) in our back and forth?
As an example, this is my comment (# 12) from February 13th, which was only 4 days ago. It addresses Canada’s housing bubble cities and I do that by talking about house prices, incomes and the price to income ratio.
“Canada’s bubble is bigger than almost anybody is willing to acknowledge. And it isn’t only the GTA and Vancouver that have housing bubbles.
Plenty of other Canadian cities have seen house prices basically triple since 2000 while gains in incomes have barely moved in comparison. Montreal is a good example.
Housing price gains (from 2000 to peak):
* Montreal…….( 2.9 x) … (almost tripled)
Phoenix………( 2.9 x)
Los Angeles…(2.8 x)
San Francisco…( 2.6 x)
Seattle…………( 2.6 x)
San Diego….….( 2.5 x)
Las Vegas…( 2.35 x)
Miami……..( 2.25 x)
Sources: Teranet’s Index, Case-Shiller Index”
And 200 years of housing bubble history proves that bubble cities always experience major price corrections that restore that city’s long-term price to income ratio.”
If you have a medical reason for being forgetful it would probably be a good idea if you chose to exit this conversation. Your inability to remember facts from previous posts has turned this into a merry-go-round conversation in which you must constantly and repeatedly be reminded of facts from previous posts. A back and forth like this could go on for weeks or months and thanklessly annoy Garth in the process.
The other possibility is that you are simply being dishonest and perhaps even trolling (trolls always deny that they‘re trolling). If that is the case please exit this conversation and spare Garth from potentially becoming annoyed. Garth has trolls/haters who simply want him to closed down his blog. I don’t wish to potentially contribute to that end by entertaining the trolling of one of Garth’s trolls/haters.
Garth is generous with his time in keeping his blog going. He has helped many Canadians over the years with his work. It is a privilege that we are allowed to post comments.
It is a thankless gesture to be a part of an annoying merry-go-round conversation in which I have to repeatedly remind you of previously posted facts.
Please respectfully bow out. Thanks.
RRSP’s may be more trouble than they are worth. Many seniors are finding out that when its time to withdraw they are getting bumped to the higher tax brackets.
Where did I mention retirement? – Garth
66 PastThePeak on 02.16.19 at 9:55 pm
The average Cad consumer is very stretched. I posted a few days ago a stat about 30% of vehicle trade-ins in Canada have negative equity, with an average of $7k more owed than black book value. Yet another over extended data point.
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Ya know what is even more interesting than the 30% of trade ins with over $7K of negative equity.
Think of how many others ‘attempted’ to trade their car in but didn’t because the negative equity was more than they could handle.
People are trying to live beyond their means.
#7 expat – Good riddance.
Garth is your graph for families with two kids? Looks like it but doesn’t say.
#94 Stan Brooks on 02.17.19 at 1:19 pm
DELETED (excess posts)
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Man oh man I can just imagine Stan bouncing around that rubber room right now.
Hello from Santa Monica. After hearing complaints about the difficulty for spouses to split income when in high/ low earner situation in Canada, it seem a divorce would solve the problem. Then set alimony at the number you want to get the income split. Then if you really want to get divorced at a later date, stop paying and to trigger the negotiation of a real deal.
You can borrow money to put into an RRSP, use the refund to pay down the loan, creating wealth from nothing. And all growth within the plan happens sans tax of any kind.
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Hey Garth, I have a line of credit with a 20k limit. Are you saying I could max that out, transfer that cash into my RRSP and pay it back with the refund… All the while it’s working for me in my ETF portfolio? Seems too good to be true!
Thanks to the miracles of IVF (fully funded by Kathleen Wynne) we will soon have three children.
We are multimillionaires.
But CTTB measures income, not assets.
There is this cool way of accumulating assets and then having kids that works out well in Canada
Then just travel and enjoy your life.
Let the 1% pay for the children they don’t want.
#4 counter
“Yes. Scotia bank economists point to it as fiscal stimulus. – Garth”
It WAS SHORT LIVED, as in about 1 YEAR’s worth of fiscal stimulus if you believe the “other guys” at BMO (1st paragraph):
https://i.imgur.com/K7hRIMU.jpg
That just means they’ll just have to cook something else up QUICK to turn 2018-2019 into a 2011-2012 dip/recovery in Retail Sales Volume and Real Household Consumption; otherwise, hello 2007-2008.
It’ll be “nip and tuck” until then and we find out which it is after the next few GDP Reports. I hate to say it but it’s looking like 2007-2008 what with the shitty weather the past few months and the bad mood Canadian’s are in because of finances.
Hope for a miracle for the sake of many Canadian’s that will suffer.
At what point does not contributing to an RRSP make sense? I make $150k and have extra room. I don’t know if I’ll end up paying more tax when I’m forced to draw it down if I squirrel too much away.
Joshua #5: what about those ‘catastrophic failures of health’ associated with mass shootings in the US? It’s not like the NRA steps up to pay survivors’ medical bills either.
“Remember that RRSPs are tax-shifting beasts. Use them to reduce tax during the good years, then draw them down during the lean (sabbatical, job loss, maternity leave, training, screw-this-I’m-off-to-Morocco etc.)” Hold on, when you draw money from your RRSP to fund a job loss or a maternity leave, don’t you lose your contribution room forever??? Wouldn’t a TFSA work better in this scenario?
#13 Victoria Real Estate Update
Not that you need any of my help but you can also refer said Commenter to the 5th & 7th Circles of Internet Hell:
https://i.imgur.com/JhFBVbM.jpg
Expect a Godwin’s Law response, all things being consistent, from that Commenter (probably talks at the theater too).
That’s 3 for me.
The Real Buonanotte.
Why marry in this day and age, especially in Canada, just to save a few tax dollars, and get your assets seized by force years later in Family Court?
That child tax benefit is one of my biggest reasons for not voting Liberal later this year. I have a host of other reasons but that one is right up there.
Going to weigh in on CCB. Dad of 3, with my wife staying at home to raise the boys. She gave up a job in the oil patch making 70G a year to not institutionalize the kids. Still homeschool, mostly.
Entrepreneur. Hard-core private sector. Rented a modest (humble, gross) apt., converted by some boomer land-lady from an old town house (so, half a town house).
The CCB helped us eat for a couple years while I built two businesses. Now, I have 3 employees in one business (forestry guys), and another that employs 3 scientists, a sales person, and two university departments (not the whole department) researching a solution for one of the bigger ecological disasters (and for which we hold the IP’s). So, two patents later, chemical plant scale up technology (that new, and innovative, too) and knock-your-socks off lab and field results…
Might fail – might not. But, you can’t argue the potential.
So, I’m a private sector guy. Many who’ve started a business realize that the first couple of years can be REALLY tough. The CCB was a blessing. I’ll take the tax hit – I dipped then, and now I’ll pay.
Having grown up in a time and place where meager CCB (or whatever it was called in the 80’s) by weed-addict, jerk-ass, ex-hippy loser boomer parents was squandered, where we were, often, a Church basement away from not EATING that day, I’ll take what we have now. If it means some kids getting fed, or getting a decent coat, or whatever, I’ll pay it.
If it means some meth-parents, or drinkers, or pot-heads, or whatever, getting extra-bucks to pay their vice bill, well, you know, that sucks. On a separate ballot, I’d vote to gas ’em, but that just doesn’t go over well, these days, with the lefties.
But children, we have an obligation to look after them.
Chicago has outrageously high realty taxes. You’re paying $10,000 every half-million. Big reason everyone’s leaving.
In my experience after 30-plus years previously living in the US, I find the Canadian healthcare system frustrating for a healthy person with infrequent injuries and illnesses as it’s very difficult to book appointments with a family doctor, and the walk-in clinics and ER always seem to always be filled with junkies, which results in excessively long wait times. This doesn’t happen in the US because… no insurance, no luck.
Of my hundreds of US relatives and acquaintances, I know of nobody driven to destitution by healthcare costs. That argument, often presented stridently, is much overused unwitting hyperbole by people who have experience with only a socialized-type system.
Yes, salaries are higher in the US, taxes are lower and prices are lower. Does Canada have advantages over the US from an economic or healthcare perspective? Again, in my experience… no. And significant downsides.
Couple of random comments on this.
Sure 91% of US Citizens have health ‘coverage’….how many can afford to actually use it when the average deductible is $1000? Need a trip to your Doctor about that niggling pain that won’t go away…gonna cost you a grand.
Hungary has introduced an interesting solution for it’s population growth. Instead of flooding the country with uncontrolled immigration like the rest of Europe, it’s offering mothers life time tax free status if they have 4 or more kids.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/hungary-to-give-women-with-4-or-more-kids-life-tax-exemption-1.4291485
good article outling the basics of life costs and general income and taxation level, but thats just the overview in this limited space.
the real deal in America, is the access to credit that Canada has very little. that is why real estate is distorted in Canada, where i know guys with 4 condo’s rented, with zero cash flow, but in 20 years will have them all paid for, bla bla bla. the only leverage in canada is for real estate and thats why rents are crazy, cap rates are low, and its a super long time to make money in canada.
while in the USA, man, sba loans , etc, anyone with a few hundred grand can leverage a successfull business acquisition 4 to 1: make $300K us and pay little tax, with all the deductions, mortgage interest, no state tax in florida, etc etc, with pass through s corporation structure, or max 21% fed rate. no state corporate tax.
basically, any agressive guy can make it well in the usa. in Canada immigrants and natives and some religious people have kids, no one else does. and they obviously are of lower income and net no taxes.
canada is a poor place, no real money opportunities here, too few customers, high regulations, lower currency, higher taxes, etc. etc.
simply put, if your young and a go getter, florida is always nice, any time of the year , except orlando in the summertime, real real stuffy in your face humidity.
Don’t worry…Income tax is just a temporary levy to pay for the war effort.
If the Trudeau Liberal Government can get us down to a 55 cent dollar (Vis-a-vis the U.S)….House prices in Canada would make sense…
Bahaha
What a great one today!
Just in time for Family Day.
# 26 Dolce Vita
I’ve experienced this type of thing before. lol Funny in some ways.
I don’t mind if it keeps going – I love watching these types dig themselves deeper and deeper into a hole while trying harder and harder to distract from that fact.
When they can’t find any verifiable facts from credible sources to support their (incorrect) claims and they can’t stand losing – this display of immaturity is often the result.
My concern is that it is probably annoying to Garth.
#23 Dave on 02.17.19 at 5:28 pm
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Table1:
https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Tax-Rates-Ontario-2018/$FILE/Tax-Rates-Ontario-2018.pdf
Table2:
https://advisors.td.com/saverio.veltri/mediahandler/media/127423/Personal_Tax_Rates_and_Credits_English.pdf
Income tax calculator /w RRSP input:
——————————————–
You can actually see how much return/tax you’ll pay from below calc, I think your magic number is between 55K-60K RRSP, where you can get almost @ 50% back.
https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tax-resources/ontario-income-tax-calculator.jsp?iref=taxcalc-on
#19 Phil on 02.17.19 at 5:18 pm
So you are advocating tax fraud? Nice.
#28 HH on 02.17.19 at 5:39 pm
That child tax benefit is one of my biggest reasons for not voting Liberal later this year. I have a host of other reasons but that one is right up there.
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You think anyone else you could vote for will actually have cutting it as part of their platform? Dream on…
good article
I wouldn`t mind paying taxes if I didn`t know so many people who don`t declare their rental income or their subcontracting work for renos. It leaves you a bit cynical at times, and it was part of the reason I moved from BC to Alberta.
I pay more in taxes than the average canadian earns, and at a certain point I have to ask what`s in it for me…
#36 Victoria Real Estate Update on 02.17.19 at 6:29 pm
My concern is that it is probably annoying to Garth.
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What? Unlike say 286 words of self-righteous indignation posting he has to read through while moderating? Cough, cough, #13…
Always love the photos…especially today’s, Garth.
Looking at it, I’m actually missing the doghair and patio door nosemarks!
Retired in B.C., husband and I pay total of $75.00/mo. for Medical Serv Plan plus approx $380.00/mo. Pacific Blue Cross for dental, optical, prescription (to annual limits, which increase with seniority in the plan).
So far, we’ve only used 1% of what we pay, but we expect that’ll change as we age, unfortunately.
Another USA item: gas is regularly about half the price we Canadians pay.
@#14 full of baloney
“RRSP’s may be more trouble than they are worth. Many seniors are finding out that when its time to withdraw they are getting bumped to the higher tax brackets…..”
+++++
Since when is having “too much money in retirement “a problem”?
#41 Corban on 02.17.19 at 7:06 pm
I wouldn`t mind paying taxes if I didn`t know so many people who don`t declare their rental income or their subcontracting work for renos.
This is a load of turd.
I compliment you on your diligence.
Landlords, however, do not have income.
We are a servant species.
We exist to promote the betterment of the renter classes.
These folks are Gods. If you are a renter, you are a third species. Greater than the rest of the animal kingdom. Higher than human. Protected by socialist rights based systems, that basically makes the person who owns the building in which you live, into your personal slave for life.
Destroy your unit.
Call your landlord.
The window in my apartment is broken, it is cold. Please fix it.
Yeah, you broke the window yourself, by partying the last weekend.
Who cares.
The landlord is the servant, you are the slave driver. Fix the window, so I can break it again…….
Don’t be a landlord.
The deck is stacked against you.
If you want to challenge your tenants, while they destroy your building, you have to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that you are not violating any of their human rights.
You live in Canada.
People have a lot of human rights here.
Just give up, sell your building for condo construction, move on. It is not worth the effort.
@#32 Deplorable
“Hungary….. it’s offering mothers life time tax free status if they have 4 or more kids….”
+++++
Interesting idea but probably because the govt knows most educated women will never have 4 + kids….and if they do….they probably arent working for at least 10-15 years.
Nice to see that Chilliwack houses have now dropped below $400k
.Listing ID: R2336449
Listing ID: R2329811
Listing ID: R2324374
Listing ID: R2321795
One key point that you have not addressed in this comparison between the US and Canada is the cost of a university education. In Canada the tuition for local students at UBC or UT, or McGill is much less than the comparable in the US. At UCLA for an in-state student, you would pay 11,500 + 2,000 fees =13,500 U.S. for just the basic yearly cost (no living expenses). At UBC, you need pay approximately half of this and in Canadian funds.
Expensive tuition in the U.S. for comparable quality programs is a real detriment to getting advanced skills (engineering etc…) to climb up the wealth ladder in the U.S.
Secondly, from living in the U.S. for 5 years many years ago, the dizzying amount of co-pay fees and top-up fees and the myriad number of forms for health coverage when you need it (experienced all of this first hand) was shocking.
Much rather be here than there; and don’t need to spend extra $$$ on living in gated communities and other security measures.
#43 Barb on 02.17.19 at 7:14 pm
Retired in B.C., husband and I pay total of $75.00/mo. for Medical Serv Plan plus approx $380.00/mo. Pacific Blue Cross for dental, optical, prescription (to annual limits, which increase with seniority in the plan).
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Been looking at real-world pros/cons for this topic as part of retirement planning. Maybe BC is better than ON for pricing but is the $5500/year covering costs including the overages on deductibles, co-pays, maximum allowable claims etc?
There’s a counter argument that self-insurance (say banking that $5500 yearly) and (faithfully) only using as your personal health account puts you further ahead for routine costs. Which expenses are the swingers for you that make paying for the insurance plan more beneficial i.e. getting more out than you put in?
Thanks.
Yeah, but also 38 million people on food stamps as of September.
Some do well, some don’t.
We have millions on social assistance. Don’t be too smug. – Garth
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I like the no HST down in the States. Makes sense to me. When prices are attractive to the consumer they will buy, and this helps the economy move.
Giving money to help raise a child is just avoiding the real issues of middle class standards. And the easy credit eventually strangles the economy as it is now.
Time to put on a middle-class, think-tank cap on and stop avoiding the problem(s).
Another topic: When in elementary school when anyone had the sniffles they were sent home (to control contamination. Last twenty years kids go to school sick, spreading germs.
Washington state has an outbreak of measles, now Vancouver has about 10 cases of measles. I believe they travelled there. Whatever happened to caution and stay at home?
Is it the same as sun screen, put on and stay out longer in the sun? A misuse, a misconception, or lack of knowledge.
Garth, T2 chased away $100b in investment and cancelled another $100B in projects. The economy is running at 1.5%. Where did the expanded child care allowance come from? Yeah from debt just like all his other spending promises. The economy has shrunk except for those part time govt jobs he bought. I am sure maids and bartenders working just above the poverty line are really contemplating having a lot of kids.
OPINION
Donald Trump is the best president the left has ever had: Neil Macdonald From fiscal policy, to trade, to war —
Trump has been an objective ally for those on the left
Neil Macdonald · CBC News · Posted: Jan 24, 2019 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 24
https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/donald-trump-left-1.4989948
18 Penny Henny on 02.17.19 at 5:15 pm
#94 Stan Brooks on 02.17.19 at 1:19 pm
DELETED (excess posts)
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Man oh man I can just imagine Stan bouncing around that rubber room right now.
——————————————————–
Be sure to say hi to him for us.
For sure, max out TSFA and RRSP. Having more money in the future is always a good thing :)
#18 Penny Henny on 02.17.19 at 5:15 pm
#94 Stan Brooks on 02.17.19 at 1:19 pm
DELETED (excess posts)
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Man oh man I can just imagine Stan bouncing around that rubber room right now.
It was a loss for the audience, selective filter on a bank’s bashing post.
As for you it is clear you will keep living in denial all the way to hell, … oops, you are already there and it is frozen.
:devil
#5 Joshua on 02.17.19 at 4:36 pm
You mean you are in a great place if you develop serious illness here while not having a family doctor (as many do), so no access to the system or having to wait for specialists for months or even years?
Of course health coverage will become more and more rationed and exclude more and more ‘non-urgent’ (subject to flexible redefinition) stuff (examples: dental, hip replacement, ….) focusing only on ‘urgent’ care, of course with long wait times that makes it practically not accessible.
What is really strange is that we are supposedly a ‘social’ country while Americans (the capitalists) have better health coverage for the elder and better benefits (social security vs our CPP + old age). In some places down there you can actually retire.
Here the garbage bins/dumps wait for you in retirement (Mission Impossible 11 starring Tom Cruise, right after mission impossible 1 – having kids, mission impossible 2 – finding a good job after education, mission impossible 3 – buying a home etc.)
#16 baloney wrote
#7 expat – Good riddance.
Why? becuase I choose to keep my wealth after 40 years of hard work and smart money management?
versus having it stolen by taxes?
Or is it because you work for government and you expect me to pay your entitlements?
Likely the latter
Sorry pal – I feed my family first.
The US absolutely destroys Canada in every indicator that matters. Look at the capitalization the US has compared to us. We have been a country for 150 yrs and barely built anything that’s not 100 miles from the US border.
#52 Entrepreneur on 02.17.19 at 7:55 pm
I like the no HST down in the States. Makes sense to me. When prices are attractive to the consumer they will buy, and this helps the economy move.
Giving money to help raise a child is just avoiding the real issues of middle class standards. And the easy credit eventually strangles the economy as it is now
Exactly.
Easy credit drives consumption vs. investments/savings and in an environment of incentivized competition people are encouraged to do crazy stuff, ‘removing’ the risk through tax payer guarantees adds fuel to the fire and ‘refunds’ to people is just either a redistribution from the upper and middle middle class to the poor or just a check written on behalf of the future generations (i.e. debt) in order to promote more and more irresponsible behavior today that benefits certain government sponsored ‘enterprises’.
No amount of incentives or reforms will have positive effect, on the contrary, it will be detrimental in long run for as long as the main reasons for our economic demise, which are: excessive crediting, removal of risk, interest rates manipulations are present.
All the supposedly rich people here have is a house (usually backed by a huge debt), education that can not guarantee them a decent well paying job and a huge HELOC line of credit to subsidize ‘lifestyle’.
No savings, investments or pensions.
It surely will end well.
#29 @timoftrees. “But children, we have an obligation to look after them.”
No, Tim. Why can’t you just get it thru your thick skull. They are your children… You decided to have them. Now you should pay for them! How downright selfish of you to speak on my behalf.
A small point for comparison: My female cousin, age 78, recently underwent surgery for stage 3/4 colon cancer. A combination of “Obamacare” and her private insurance (from her late husband’s plan at GM in Michigan) has turned down every request for either of or both chemotherapy and radiation. The reason – she’s too old. Nevermind the prospect of treatment efficacy, or the prospect of a longer life after treatment. At 78 she is too old…full stop. Of course, if she could afford it, she is welcome to seek and pay for private treatment. She cannot afford it.
I’d rather live here and am blessed that I do.
It gets even better: Be a 1%’er and use a large RSP contribution room to lower your net family income and receive CCB the following year.
1. Take monthly CCB
2. Deposit into kids’ RESP
3. Laugh as the government gives you more free money for depositing free government money
Sure, there’s a $2500/year/kid RESP maximum, but for families in the $70K scenario above, that’s almost exactly the same as the CCB benefit.
Gracious. The Jag goes south for a couple of weeks and returns to the usual flotsom jetsam of events in the great white north. This business with the former Justice Minister and the PM. Mercy. Everyone in Canada knows Prov.Quebec . is the epicentre of corruption in Canada, second only to the most westerly province where the ability to look the other way on money laundering has no peer. Why? Because they both share the same morally bankrupt personalities. It’s understood this is political dynamite to make such a statement, but nevertheless it is true. The Italians and French are different and yet compatible in this regard ( Quebec) when compared with their english/scottish co-inhabitants, (who make very good bankers.) Sorry, Dolce Vita, but this is a cultural issue. If you take a border collie that has never been instructed in the business of herding sheep it will instantly take to the task. Why should we think humans are so very different? Whatever the reason, our cultural upbringing brings out certain traits, passed down over time. Corruption, payoffs, etc., are just a little more acceptable in some circles. I suppose this will incite outrage, but I don’t care. It has been my observation for some time. For others, they earned their money the old fashioned way. They ‘earned it’. Of course this is the cryptonite the conservatives have been looking for….Our PM, so associated with Montreal and all the cronies there, so out of touch with the rest of the country. NDP in tatters. Appears a window is opening for the Conservative leader. Don’t blow it, A.S.
And don’t make the mistake of beaking off too much in Alberta where Rachel has solid and well deserved support. NDP or not, she is our Tiger fighting for this province. Remember to stick to the knitting….
Did you just call Italians border collies? – Garth
https://www.statista.com/statistics/274513/life-expectancy-in-north-america/
Not everything is better south of the border!
13 VREU – quite happy to finish up. We’ve made no progress. It’s just a blog and shouldn’t become a sore
spot for anybody. Please keep in mind I requested
some very specific info which may actually help prove
your case. But I don’t think it will.
I have also not resorted to personal insults (realtor?
really?)
I continued to search for price of an
average /median/typical digs in Montreal. Got figures from $315-348k. About the same as Port Alberni BC.
Port. Alberni. made it to the list of “Best places to live” in moneysense. Last place.
26 Dolce Vista – I didn’t think anybody was following.
42 Remembrancer – play nice please.
Garth – thank you.
I thought I was going to drop dead. I seriously did. They are like “chicken fried rice” I was like “bok Choi?”
I seriously almost died.
Don’t invite people over and then drink all morning. Sawdust city collaboration brew 11.05. Three cans of that at by noon and people are like “hey how ya doing” and I am like hey feeling a little light…
Then they expect me to cook chicken fried rice in the wok.
Brrrrttrrrrŕrr
Better pull that one.. this pork needs a barrel.
26 Vita. Sorry. spellcheck?
The winners.
Your IQ doesn’t matter. If you hit on the random number generator.
You win. If not you lose.
Eating salid. Drinking orange juice. Jogging doesn’t make a difference.
Live while your alive and don’t worry about the small shit
#49 Remembrancer on 02.17.19 at 7:36 pm
“There’s a counter argument that self-insurance (say banking that $5500 yearly) and (faithfully) only using as your personal health account puts you further ahead for routine costs. Which expenses are the swingers for you that make paying for the insurance plan more beneficial i.e. getting more out than you put in?”
——————————————–
You’re quite correct, in that I didn’t include the co-pays/ deductibles in the total, which amounted to $600 dental/optical for both.
Blue Cross maximums are puny, but increase each year.
This was very new to us in April 2018 when work coverage ended, so we thought we’d sign up with the “retiree extension” offered.
We did discuss whether spending nearly $6K is sensible, but with age comes the fear of declining health.
We’re both currently still hale and hearty (knock on wood).
We’ll discuss it at the plan’s first year anniversary; my gut feeling is to bail and self insure.
Lest we become the actuarial dream for Blue Cross.
The house always wins.
Did you just call Italians border collies? – Garth
No. I am saying our respected blog dog ‘Dolce Vita’, will object to the Italians of Montreal being lumped in with the ‘usual suspects’. And border collies are untouchable in the hierarchy of those intending to transend life on earth to something some refer to as heaven. Border collies are the preferred dogs of people of scottish decent. They are ‘top dog’, more or less, like Scottish folds for those who appreciate the company of cats.
At great risk I am only saying that it is reasonable to attribute certain ‘characteristics’ to certain segments, based on their culture. If you have a solid Scots background you know instinctively that all debt must be repaid prior to New Years Eve at the end of each year. All ‘ TABS’ must be cleared. This is why they make great bankers. Some things are just self evident whether they are politically correct or not. And Quebec has been corrupt since Christ was a Corporal.
Do the math.
#64 Blorg Dorg – exactly if you do it right – it’s effectively free eduaction for the kiddos and you still might have some cash left over. But for those that pay taxes, it’s not free money, it’s really just getting a bit of your own money back.
https://themoneyrunner.ca/2019/02/resp-is-it-worth-it/
A democrat or a republican will not win shit on deaths day.
This is way promote fun and recklessnes every second of your pathetic life.
You are all going to die. When you get it. I will drink with you. Nothing to lose.
Hey Garth,
Just a side-note, in the US in most states you also pay local and state tax on top of capital gains, so where I live in PA your actual capital gains ranges from 3.07% (state tax) + 0% capital gains to as high as 3.87% (philly city tax) + 3.07% + 20% = 26.94% (and PA is a relatively low tax state). Of course this can be reduced significantly by living in Washington/etc but definitely something to keep in mind.
Employers also pay a higher share of taxes here. If you compare total taxes paid on income (PA vs Alberta) the total share of taxes doesn’t equal until about 230k.
Employer also has to pay healthcare plus the employee has to pay even with those high premiums. (Total paid for just me is around $5,000 for employer and I personally pay ~$1,500/yr barring emergencies, non-deductible, no dependents).
When you also consider that school quality is lower unless you live in a high property tax area, total tax load here is very high… (Homes worth $500k come with $10-15k in property tax if they are built in the last 40 years, can get it as low as $7k if you go 80 years, $6k if you go over 100).
Overall equality of opportunity doesn’t seem to exist here, if your family isn’t wealthy you won’t get into the “right” schools so you can’t get into the “right” college. That’s the first question people as here, “where did you go to school”, not “what did you study?”. I suppose we have the same problem in Canada “what part of town do you live in?”, just thinly-veiled wealth proxies.
Infrastructure here is also crumbling and there is a very high level of state corruption (although California is worse).
RRSPs eh? Suppose one’s income is not going to be lower in their retirement, but higher instead, and growing yearly. Would avoiding an RRSP be advisable in this situation?
#65 the Jaguar
I love Québec – all of it. When living in Canada it was the only place you could get a feel for being in Europe. THE only place in N. America where you had to hunt for a lousy restaurant.
When living in Ottawa and out to the ByWard market, you could always tell the Québécois from Les Anglais on a Sunday especially, the Québécois were dressed to the 9’s, same mentality as the Italian’s.
And on weekends they’d promenade on St. Denis, again dressed to the 9’s…La Passeggiata (we do it every day in Italia).
And ya, I was the lone Westerner that actually believed in Québec’s Distinct Society even way back when (not popular in AB then, or ON for that matter).
All you had to do was hob knob down the St. Lawrence on an Autumn Sunday and rub elbows with the locals (Rivière-du-Loup one of my favorites, well, so was Ville de Québec, north of Saint-Jérôme, quirky L’Isle-aux-Coudres, and so on, and so on).
On the border collie dog thing, as Garth pointed out, you’re on you own.
‘Of course, Americans can deduct a portion of their municipal taxes and even mortgage interest from federal tax payable.’
I’ve been envious of this for year, although it’s now not quite the advantage it once was. In a complicated missive describing how this works, an example is given :
“The 2017 standard deduction for a married couple was $12,700. So, a married couple that paid $15,000 in mortgage interest and also had $3,000 in charitable contributions and $6,000 in state and local taxes would have been able to reduce their taxable income by an additional $11,300 by itemizing. For 2018, the standard deduction for a married couple is $24,000, so this couple wouldn’t be any better off by itemizing.”
The entire article, describing the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, is here:
https://www.fool.com/taxes/2018/10/13/can-i-still-deduct-my-mortgage-interest-in-2018.aspx
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-6715499/Social-media-sites-face-compulsory-ethics-code-MPs-say.html
Lies and liars are fighting to control the agenda. If you think that Trudeau should be spending our tax dollars on improving life for Canadians instead of making dictators rich please don’t vote Liberal. Your children deserve better.
Recently I had an age related eye issue. I asked two doctors in Canada for advice. Both said the specialist I needed would take months or years to see. They both recommended I go to a private hospital outside Canada because I could lose sight in one eye if I waited for my ” free” medical in Canada. I took thier advice , noting that one doctor also left Canada to receive treatment. I went to a famous hospital outside Canada and started my treatment with a specialist that same day, blinding averted, no thanks to Trudeau giving away billions to dictators instead of Canadian hospitals.
You repeatedly complain about politicians’ divide and conquer tactics, then use them yourself…
#43 barb “Another USA item: gas is regularly about half the price we Canadians pay.”
A minor detail, perhaps. But for the sake of credibility : American average gasoline pump prices for regular are currently almost exactly 75% of Canadian prices (using 1.35 for currency conversion).
Gas Buddy has great state-by state and province-by province price tables.
#61 Ron on 02.17.19 at 8:45 pm
#29 @timoftrees. “But children, we have an obligation to look after them.”
No, Tim. Why can’t you just get it thru your thick skull. They are your children… You decided to have them. Now you should pay for them! How downright selfish of you to speak on my behalf.
==================================================
Umm, Ron,
As much as I’d like to agree with you. I believe children are a ward of the state. As such, the government is ultimately responsible for their welfare. These extravagant programs are there so they don’t have to look after the little buggars.
The parents are really just licensees of the children.
Once you accept the above, the system makes perfect sense.
It is the very basis of the Canadian system where the citizen has very little rights and owns almost nothing. Property, cars, boats, guns, schooling, banking is all operated under license, to the crown.
Cheer up now, okay?
#64 BlorgDorg on 02.17.19 at 8:57 pm
1. Take monthly CCB
2. Deposit into kids’ RESP
3. Laugh as the government gives you more free money for depositing free government money
Sure, there’s a $2500/year/kid RESP maximum, but for families in the $70K scenario above, that’s almost exactly the same as the CCB benefit.
————————–
Doing it and laughing all the way to the bank! My son isn’t 2 yet and already has over $8K in his RESP!
Unfortunately for the residents of the US, despite the money in the US, it does not translate into better well being. Increased well being, I presume would be the purose of acquiring said monies. Lots of poverty, high child poverty, child mortality, reduced life expectancy, poor health, poor education etc.. The USA ranks poorly vs other developed countries on many of the 17 criteria defined by the UN for sustainable development. It’s not all about the money (blaspheme to many readers).
https://qz.com/879092/the-us-doesnt-look-like-a-developed-country/
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300
Like I have said on many an occasion, what Canada really needs is a tax on idiots. If that was implemented there would be money for everything because it seems there are enough of them that continue to vote in these completely, inept and useless governments.
Believe it or not, there are people in BC who believe they have won the lottery because they are involved in the experimental $10 daycare. Now, they say they can save for a trip to California (Today’s Times Colonist). When will people start to understand that nothing is free, somebody actually pays for it.
I’m starting to wonder what is the point of working when taxes start to eat the majority of an income.
The Average family pays $35k in income taxes per year on an Canadian average income of about 83k.
So each new adult forming a family on average will pay about 962k x 2 spouses =1,924,000 in income tax not adjusting for future inflation.
If we paid $1000 per month for new babies to age 18 that would cost 216,000 for the life of each child (again not adjusting for future inflation.)
Not a bad return for a country short of workers.
If you think paying for babies is bad, the alternative is less taxpayers to pay no tax at all!
Perhaps we could pump up immigration cheaper than that but there are downsides to too much immigration, too fast. Look at Europe.
Many countries are doing similar plans to support families whose lives are really a living hell once they commit to children. Hungary and France are leaders.
Canada’s birth rate of 1.6 per couple, means that at this rate we will have only 1 person in the country at some point far in the future if we do not have immigration.
Who will turn the lights out?
https://globalnews.ca/news/3691159/canada-taxes-incomes-fraser-institute/
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/have-four-or-more-babies-in-hungary-and-youll-pay-no-income-tax-for-life.html
Two points this evening:
1) All you soon to be leaving your hated Canada types, if you are going to the US be sure and carry sugar packets with you at all times. Sugar coagulates blood fast and a gunshot wound, especially one that goes through and through, needs the bleeding stopped ASAP.
2) Those of you having issues with the TFSA/RRSP when to use thing…you all need a competent planner or advisor because neither Jesus nor Andrew are going to help.
Although its kind of fun watching you guys pop up like a gopher on the prairie every now and then…”What do you mean successor not beneficiary?” “What do you mean use the RSP during a time of low or no income”
Come on, aren’t we all successful investors who could easily move to the US where life is ever so much easier?
Mornin’ happy family day. (Just you Ontarians, not sure what the rest gets)
16 baloney Sandwitch on 02.17.19 at 5:00 pm
#7 expat – Good riddance.
-Agreed.
Good riddance.
MF
Property taxes are generally much higher in the US, something often forgotten, and mortgages are not deducted by most due to the standard deduction limit. While the wealthy are better off, it’s not peachy for the average America. And 91 percent covered means 9 percent not covered, a number equal to Canada.
Whether Canada or the US is a better place to live depends largely on your financial circumstances.
If you have a medium to low income, generally speaking you are better off living in Canada.
There are still a few places left in this country that a middle income Canadian can live that have inexpensive housing and safe neighbourhoods. Toss in health care, and Bob’s your uncle. You can live a zombie-like brain-dead existence knowing the Canadian social safety net is underneath you, should you totally lose your grip.
In the u.S., if you have money, life can be truly grand.
(If you are not wealthy in the U.S., it’s dog -eat-dog.)
Less tax, better weather, cheaper housing, WAY MORE CHOICE of places to live and lifestyles to lead. If you have the coin, you can pick your hood. Nice. Safe. Even “gated”. Self-funded healthcare is no issue if you got the cash.
The U.S. is many different countries and cultures. Depending on what state you are in, the culture, lifestyle, mentality, and atmosphere are completely different.
But, again, it really is highly dependent on income.
In the US, when you have bucks, you can truly live the dream.
In Canada, if you have bucks, you give at least half of it away for redistribution, pay ridiculously high housing prices, land transfer taxes, and property taxes, and then take trips to the US with whatever you have left in order to escape the 6 months of horrible weather and general dullness.
But don’t get me wrong, it’s still not so bad here. I like to think of Canada as a nice quiet neighbourhood on the outskirts of an amusement park called the U.S.A.
Fun to visit. Nice to leave.
I just wish the guv would get its hand out of our pockets.
To RRSP or not to RRSP?
#76 LuckySoB on 02.17.19 at 11:16 pm asked
RRSPs eh? Suppose one’s income is not going to be lower in their retirement, but higher instead, and growing yearly. Would avoiding an RRSP be advisable in this situation?
************************************
In that case TFSA is superior and should be used first. RRSP can still beat a taxable account in that situation but that depends on tax rates and how clever one is in the taxable account at deferring and minimizing tax.
RRSP savings will of course always produce more retirement after tax income than simply spending the money today – so there is that.
I’d be interested in how you will earn more in retirement. I imagine that would be the case for many successful business owners including those owning residential apartment blocks.
orange affair?
translation google:ING pays 775 million due to serious negligence in preventing money laundering
September 4, 2018 – Functional Parquet
ING Bank N.V. (ING) in Amsterdam has accepted and paid a transaction of 775,000,000 euros offered by the Public Prosecution Service (OM). The Public Prosecution Service charges ING in the Netherlands for years and structural infringement of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Wwft) Act. This was done in such a way that the bank was also blamed for guiltwashing: the bank did not prevent that bank accounts of ING customers in the Netherlands were used between 2010 and 2016 for the laundering of hundreds of millions of euros.
according to the Public Prosecution Service, ING NL did not properly fulfill its role as gatekeeper of our financial system – as resulting from the Wwft. The Wwft is a law that aims to prevent financial crime such as money laundering and terrorist financing as much as possible. Under the Wwft, gatekeepers must conduct client research, among other things, and report unusual transactions to FIU.
ING NL was seriously deficient in this, according to a criminal investigation. The result is that clients have been able to use ING NL’s accounts for criminal activities almost undisturbed for years. According to the Public Prosecution Service, ING NL should have seen that certain funds flowing through the bank accounts of clients of ING NL may have originated from crime. The bank has wrongly not taken sufficient action on this. That is why the Public Prosecution Service charges the bank with not only violation of the Wwft, but also guiltwares.
https://www.om.nl/@103953/ing-betaalt-775/
46 EHRM 8 February 1996 (Murray). 47 The Court of Justice in The Hague, 12 March 2008, LJN BC6500 and HR 13 July 2010, NJ 2010, 456 and HR 19
December 2014, ECLI:NL:HR:2014:3687.
48 Including Felix Sater. 49 Press release by the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service on the occasion of a settlement with ING Bank
N.V..: https://www.om.nl/@103953/ing-betaalt-775/
====
contrast and compare?
Filing of a report against the Khrapunov fraud
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JbYNPb4fusoOnGegmVDh5mcmRtNUROnD/view
Trump versus the courts
Trump tweeted yesterday:
“The Mueller investigation is totally conflicted, illegal and rigged! Should never have been allowed to begin, except for the Collusion and many crimes committed by the Democrats. Witch Hunt!”
**************************************
This likely means Trump knows that report is going to be ugly.
And the fallout will be ugly indeed. Massive protests at the least. Expect violence.
I’d expect a market correction at that time. But I am not suggesting get out of the market.
And how does the legal system react to an accused who disrespects the legal system? Not kindly.
Even his own appointees on the supreme court will have a hard time condoning his attacks on the integrity of the U.S legal system.
#71 Barb on 02.17.19 at 10:38 pm
Thanks Barb, was in a similar situation and extended automatically what seemed like a safety net from a good corporate plan. Then started doing the math after the first claim and 6th monthly payment. Was never going to be a good deal for health / dental / vision… Luckily was a monthly deal, so got out and went self-insured route with a separate account. Requires disciplined savings application though in these knock-on-wood better health early years…
#76 LuckySoB on 02.17.19 at 11:16 pm
“RRSPs eh? Suppose one’s income is not going to be lower in their retirement, but higher instead, and growing yearly. Would avoiding an RRSP be advisable in this situation?” No. A dollar received today is worth more than a dollar received tomorrow due to the time value of money (or time preference).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_value_of_money
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_preference
Even though your income may be higher and growing—and taxed at higher rates—in the far future, those cash flows have comparatively less value due to discounting.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discounting
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_present_value
Current cash flows are preferable to future cash flows, so they should be shielded by tax deductions (like RRSPs).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_shield
Capisce? Comprende? No? I give up! :)
Garth, dogs
I have a large amount of money saved in RRSP and TFSA and I am hoping to use both of these in retirement which may be 5 – 10 years away. however, I have this fear. fear of government. I fear that there will be governments in the future that are much like the current government, but even more desperate for revenue to feed their debt. people like us and ones on this blog will be the minority. as such the promises made by past governments will be broken,…and no votes lost. they will systematically remove our savings,”for the good of the majority”. They will find a way to twist it as a good ethical decision, as it is what they have to do…
that is my greatest fear….
garth
please do an article on the confidence peoples savings, their hard earned money, safe from future predatory governments.
I can clearly imagine the current socialist government twisting the ethics of when they should extract this pool of money, may be 4 -5 years down the road.
Maybe this is why people are buying real estate due to their greater, (but misunderstood) feeling of its security.
How hard is it for them to convince the bankrupt majority of Canadians that the right thing to do is to enact laws that extract the hard earned saving from the few remaining prudent people living in this land.
Many articals on this blog already speak to this type of governing and society including this one.
please do a blog on the security of our hard saved money,…SAFE FROM OUR VERY OWN GOVERNMENT!!!
@77 La Dolce Vita
You are preaching to the converted. I agree wholeheartedly that Quebec is a distinct society. Doesn’t mean they should ask for or receive a bigger slice of the pie than the other provinces. If they take more care with their appearance and clothing it only “fits” with their cultural attributes. Roosters like to strut and show off, but they still need to scratch out a living like the rest of us. They are also loud and crow a great deal. The art of understatement is lost on roosters as is restraint, another underrated virtue. Come to think of it, not sure the word ‘virtue’ applies in any context.
Italians as border collies. Francophones as roosters. You’re on a roll. – Garth
@#77 Dolce Viagra
“And ya, I was the lone Westerner that actually believed in Québec’s Distinct Society …”
++++
As a “Pure Lain” friend of mine who’s family settled in Quebec over 200 years ago once commented to his family who were arguing as to why Quebec’s distinct society must separate.
“Distinct? We FILL the Olympic stadium in Montreal for Monster Truck Rally’s! We’re just rednecks that speak french.”
If it makes you feel any better. He wasn’t too popular either….
@#85 Bobby
“what Canada really needs is a tax on idiots…..”
++++
Well, ironically.
You answered your own statement when you mentioned “lotteries” further on in your comment.
Lotteries and casinos, a hidden tax on the desperate, gullible, and poor.
@#88 Phylis
….and a Happy Family Day back to you from BC.
This is our 1st Family Day in conjunction with the rest of Canada’s provinces that have the day off.
Christy Clarks’ bumbling idiots in the Liberal Party brought in the holiday during an election year to buy votes and distract the sheeple from their pillaging of BC.
Unfortunately they were too stupid to have the Family Day on the 3rd Monday in Feb like everyone else.
No no. Lets be different and have it on the second Monday in Feb…….
Idiots.
Most companies in BC had Head offices in Ont, Que., Alta., or the States ( Presidents Day today).
So brainless BC would have a Monday off when everyone else was working and work the next Monday when everyone else was off.
I cant make this stuff up.
Took them 5 years of people and business complaints AND the Liberals being punted out to right a painfully obvious wrong that the Liberals were too arrogant to admit to…. sound familiar…..
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018PREM0018-000188
Lets keep that Liberal tradition going and punt Trudeau to the curb in Nov and “right a painfully obvious wrong that they are too arrogant to admit to”….. Ms Wilson-Raybould is counting on you……
@#61 Ron on 02.17.19 at 8:45 pm
#29 @timoftrees. “But children, we have an obligation to look after them.”
No, Tim. Why can’t you just get it thru your thick skull. They are your children… You decided to have them. Now you should pay for them! How downright selfish of you to speak on my behalf._
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haha, ron your skull may be the thickest.
enjoy the day with your family folks, I know I am.
just maxed out the kids RESP. Life is good here in the great white north.
The grass is always greener
One wonders when the voting taxpayers of Quebec will have had enough of their beloved SNC……..
https://business.financialpost.com/news/snc-lavalin-faces-criminal-probe-over-montreal-bridge-contract-documents-reveal
The Charbonneau Commission was a placebo.
#89 Figure it Out on 02.18.19 at 7:37 am
“… or whether you think you didn’t sign no social contract.” Hands down, the best—and funniest—comment from the steerage section I’ve read here in months. Jean-Jacques Rousseau would have given you full marks (were he alive today). :)
@#98 and 99 cto
“I have a large amount of money saved in RRSP and TFSA and I am hoping to use both of these in retirement…
******
Soooo, you invest in RRSP’s for the GOVT mandated tax refund and you also invest in the GOVT created Tax Free Savings Account’s and now you want advice on how to avoid govt taxation in later life…….?
What’s cto stand for?
Creative Tax Obstruction?
Marie Antoinette has some cake for you to eat…
Baloney
You don’t like prosperity?
#107 crowdedelevatorfartz on 02.18.19 at 10:40 am
—–
Gets deeper. Saudi is SNCs biggest client so now we know why their oil comes here. And Trudeau is a large shareholder in SNC. SNC runs projects for the Quebec pension fund and is the only company in line for projects in the Liberals Infrastructure Bank slush fund.
This thing stinks to high heaven.
We had a border collie…once…briefly. The best memory of her time spent with us occurred when our then 3 year old grandson stood in front of us, shoulders down, dejected look on his face and pronounced, “Please don’t name her Wiw-wow; I can’t say Wiw-wow”.
Willow was the devil’s spawn. In the space of 3 short months she destroyed several hundred dollars worth of roses and other garden plants. She refused training of any sort. Her energy level was off the charts and that was after at least 2 hours of daily off-leash freedom in the fields around our house. Her reputation in the neighbourhood was legend and our own reputations as responsible dog owners was in tatters.
Willow was eventually re-homed to a family north of us where she immediately settled in to be the perfect farm dog that she was meant to be. No one was taking her cattle and that’s all there was to it!
I can’t imagine any parallel to Italy, Italians, or Italian culture in this story. There isn’t any. Unless stubborness, ingenuity, joyful abandon and zest for living are attributes of Italians.
Garth,
Please write an article on population differences between Canada and the US and how one can use arbitrary statistics to create any type of narrative.
Also please write an article about why the rapidly deteriorating environment and climate change is excluded from corporate balance sheets.
Also, please write an article about why Canada’s standard of living is repeatedly reported as much higher than our neighbours to the south.
Also please write an article about how 91% of the American population that doesn’t have healthcare = 29 million people. Which is nearly equivalent of Canada’s entire population.
Thanks, Garth
Please keep stoking dissent on a daily basis. Someone has to do it.
#43 Barb
Isn’t that $75/month MSP premium going away after this year, thanks to the BC NDP?
Thanks for the post, great timing. Currently getting ready to head back to USA from Canada. Real estate liquidated, betting on future of automotive industry over oil and gas. Major disruption coming in auto sector, R&d spending off the charts south of border, Canada not so much. Health care covered by the Corp, still a Canadian citizen, best of both worlds!
@41
Your soul
Justin Trudeau has to go. The sooner the better. Canada is going down the drain thanks to him.
Collective Agreement with CBC/Radio-Canada 2014-2019
https://www.cmg.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/CMG-CBC-collective-agreement-2014-2019-ONLINE-141214.pdf
The word Union in this Collective Agreement refers to the Staff. Representatives or …..
Canada has a debt of $690 billion
….
No, the federal government does. Add up all the provincial debt to get a valid comparator to the U.S. Most or all U.S. states do not carry debt.
Today proud patriots are converging on Ottawa to let this govt know they stand with our resource industries and are appalled at the attempts to shut them down. Natives and environmentalists got their chance to protest, so can we.
Canadas existence is predicated on our abundance of resources and getting them to market. It is insanity to try and kneecap these industries that contribute massively to our standard of living. These industries support our social programs directly and contribute to provinces that cant (or wont) pay their own share into confederation.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4972392/truck-protest-ottawa-oil-policies/?utm_source=%40globalnews&utm_medium=Twitter
#82 Russ
The parents are really just licensees of the children.
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Except parents need not obtain a license beforehand.
“More people in Canada have health care, but many critics say medical services here are rationed, as evidenced by long wait times and the fact it takes years to be assigned a family doctor in most locations.”
I’ve heard this myth before. I’ve lived in five different provinces and have always found a doctor within an hour of making a few phone calls and searching on google and ratemymd. I’ve been critical of our health care system for years because I’ve got nurse friends who tell me about how ridiculous costs are for certain items. It’s far from perfect but any time I’ve needed anything (stitched up, minor surgery) it’s been both cost and hassle free. I go down to Memphis a couple times a year for work and when I hear the nightmare health care situations they have I’ll take our system any day. Yes the burden falls on the better off to provide but I’m happy to know that someone won’t go broke paying deductibles on their already insanely priced health care that will no doubt go up if they survive.
Re: #102 crowdedelevatorfartz on 02.18.19 at 9:36 am
@#85 Bobby
“what Canada really needs is a tax on idiots…..”
++++
Well, ironically.
You answered your own statement when you mentioned “lotteries” further on in your comment.
Lotteries and casinos, a hidden tax on the desperate, gullible, and poor.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Since they are investigating the casinos, might as well check into the Lotteries because I can see money laundering happening there. The BCLC, imo, is dirty, and if they can game the casinos why couldn’t they do the same for the lotteries.
I would investigate EVERYTHING that BCLC touches. Follow the money!!!!
#114 MaxBerniersShorts on 02.18.19 at 11:31 am
Isn’t that $75/month MSP premium going away after this year, thanks to the BC NDP?
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“The government said the premium costs a person earning $45,000 a year the same amount as someone making $250,000 annually, and the 1.95 per cent tax on payroll to help recover the loss of revenue is the lowest in Canada.”
source: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/b-c-budget-b-c-to-eliminate-medical-services-plan-fees-on-jan-1-2020-1.23180199
When it comes to the NDP here, we British Columbians generally wait for implementation to see its actual impact.
We learned that from two NDP reigns of terror in the 90’s.
Gerry Butts just resigned!
#99 cto on 02.18.19 at 9:04 am
please do a blog on the security of our hard saved money,…SAFE FROM OUR VERY OWN GOVERNMENT!!
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This blog may be a tad vanilla for this particular breed of kink. You might want to check out more SHTF TEOTWAWKI oriented blogs for tips on daily ration portioning and bug out bag contents etc.
First rule of thumb will likely be to liquidate and convert to gold everything you don’t need to buy a far north, or at least Bracebridge, compound.
Other, competing strategies may involve suitcases and sums in increments no more than $9999.00 and trips to warm, sunny locales. Though, security for rich foreign expats can be hit and miss when the world is one big happy ball of hope, SHTF scenarios may lead to locals being less friendly so YMMV.
Bon Chance!
#45 Ace Goodheart on 02.17.19 at 7:18 pm
#41 Corban on 02.17.19 at 7:06 pm
“Just give up, sell your building for condo construction, move on. It is not worth the effort.”
++++++++++++++++++++++
I agree. Last rental I had, people looked great on paper, home nurse and boyfriend who worked steadily for 16 years at Scott Paper in New West.
In the first month had to replace a fireplace stone tile that somehow got broken by their 3 year old, 2 months later, dryer gave up the ghost, motor cooked, then the 3 months after that, the front door kicked in, also blamed their 3 year old, late rent 3 times and that’s with income in the mid-$50k’s. In between that I had to fix the upstairs toilet twice and sink twice because of items that got stuck.
Took me a year to get them out, had to sell to do it and in the process missed out on a doubling of my property if I had held it as planned for another 3 years, with good tenants.
I looked for 3 months and refused many applicants because of suspicious items searching them out. These people came across as upstanding, gave them a break on rent because they wanted to stay a long time and got skewered. They even got their last month free, via laws in BC against landlords.
They were scumbag, pro renters who live to scam.
Never again.
#93 Shawn Allen on 02.18.19 at 8:31 am
To RRSP or not to RRSP?
#76 LuckySoB on 02.17.19 at 11:16 pm asked
RRSPs eh? Suppose one’s income is not going to be lower in their retirement, but higher instead, and growing yearly. Would avoiding an RRSP be advisable in this situation?
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In that case TFSA is superior and should be used first. RRSP can still beat a taxable account in that situation but that depends on tax rates and how clever one is in the taxable account at deferring and minimizing tax.
RRSP savings will of course always produce more retirement after tax income than simply spending the money today – so there is that.
I’d be interested in how you will earn more in retirement. I imagine that would be the case for many successful business owners including those owning residential apartment blocks.
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Large nest egg that is growing at a faster rate than I am drawing it down, with enough left to beat inflation.
US Citizen living in Canada, so no TFSA for me. We may end up moving back to the US.
#39 – They could cut it if they wanted to. They shouldn’t be dishing it out at all unless they can give it to everyone. Everyone has expenses that tax-free money would help – not just people with kids.
Did you have the copy editors from TREB go over this post for you to put some spin on it? The top federal tax rate in Canada is 33%. Good lede though.
Provinces automatically charge own their income tax as a percentage of the federal rate. When Ottawa raises taxes, it automatically ripples through. Top marginal rates are therefore in excess of 50% in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland. Even TREB guys know that. – Garth