Bad customer support from Toyota

And as to customer service, when we bought our Lexus, we were given a one-on-one of all the features and how to use them. Also invited to a presentation the following Saturday where we could ask more questions and be given more one-on-one "training" all for free. Free cofee and doughnuts too!

I think it just depends on your dealer, although I have never been to a "Toyota" dealer for sales, only Lexus. If it is different, then buy your toyota's from Lexus!

 

So why are you a Canadian living in the States?

Reminds me of that Canadian nurse living in Denver, criticizing US healthcare. So, more back to Canada.

Again, the Canadian taxpayer is very generously funding/subsidizing a lot of Canadian Content. As a pop quiz, when did HBO Canada *finally* become available in Canada?

Oh sure, we have Encore Avenue, and the various MovieChannel lineups. But as a dual citizen living in Canada, with friends and relatives living in the States, it's easy for me to comparison shop various channel offerings. For the channels I want, I am paying 26% more for them in Canada, exchange included

Of course, there are various Federal and Provincial tax credits and giveaways, courtesy of the Canadian Taxpayer, to ensure a healthy "Canadian Content" industry. That is how shows like Stargate, the canceled Battlestar Galactica, and Caprica, qualify for these credits

Canadian Heritage - CPTC - Guidelines and Forms

Canadian Heritage - Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC)

Ontario Film & Television Tax Credit

Invest British Columbia: Doing Business in British Columbia > Business Incentives

Finance - Corporation Income Tax

I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Since I'm incorporated, and can claim VERY generous credits and grants myself, financially it makes a lot of sense for me to continue living in Canada and contract out to various Federal agencies

 

There are TV channels you want???

There's a cable channel in Mexico I liked: CMC, Cine Mexicano por Cable (Mexican Movie Cable Channel) which shows old Mexican movies: Cantinflas, Lola la Trailera (Lola the Truck Driver, who drives an 18-wheeler and fights crime), various singing cowboys including Relampago (kind of a Lone Ranger figure), Capulina y Viruta (kind of an Abbot and Costello pair), and there was a woman crime fighter with a motorcycle whose side-kick was a male midget on a motor scooter. Great classic stuff that you cannot get on DVD, at least here in the U.S.

But there are no U.S. channels that I would want.

Sorry, :focus: .

 

The handful of channels I would want, must be purchased as part of "Themes" or groups. Otherwise, I'd only subscribe to 3-4 channels a month, but they wouldn't be able to rake me over the coals that way

Hmmm perhaps if I had put the StarChoice receiver in my home office, then I could have written off 100% of it. Just subscribed to all the business feeds. Oh well, too late now

My cable is ironically a better deal. It's bundled with my Shaw Nitro cable internet, and is priced quite competitively. For some reason, since it's "bundled," I'm allowed to write off 100% of it

Go figure

Which brings up another good point. Why is it when I'm in a small diner having breakfast or a snack or whatever, the Average Joe next to me grumbling about "The System," and I try to explain to this Average Joe how badly he really is getting screwed - by using my own very generous tax situation as an example - rather than that Average Joe actually DOING something about the situation, he just shrugs, grumbles some more, then changes the topic to hockey?

I really don't understand that. Almost as if they have a very vague, almost abstract, notion of The System, and when I lay out in detail how a person with my income can actually expect to pay little to NO income tax, plus receive generous grants and credits, plus even claim routine commute as an expense, they can't even process the data?

 

Your "average Joe" is angry because he knows he's being screwed, but he feels helpless, so he doesn't want to talk about it other than a bit of grumbling.

As far as those schemes for paying no tax, in the U.S. such schemes tend to end in jail. Of course, if you don't work and all your income is from investments, you could pay no taxes if you put all your investments in municipal bonds. But because those bonds pay lower interest, you would not end up with more money in your pocket in the end, and you'd have a very badly imbalanced investment portfolio.

 

It's not a scheme, you are implying I engage in criminal activity and I do NO such thing. On the advice of a tax attorney - very, very expensive but also a 100% writeoff - I carefully ensure my incorporated professional services take FULL advantage of the myriad layers of Federal, Provincial, and Local grants, and subsequent tax credits and other incentives

Which is one reason why I finally sold the Prius and stayed with the SUV: since I don't run a taxi service, it made zero sense financially - based on availability of tax writeoffs or lack thereof - to keep a car with great fuel economy. I am financially further ahead with the SUV

The sad truth is that I pay a fraction of the income tax a person earning $50,000 a year does. And I don't even push it, I've had two audits the past 10 years and both times, actually had an ADDITIONAL refund as a result!

The sad thing about the Average Joe is that the tax structure, at least here, is set up so the "average" wage earner will see a modest Refund in April. That only proves that too much tax was withheld throughout the rest of the year. They don't even pay attention to the source deductions on their payroll

As far as the Average Joe grumbling about things, I feel like screaming to them "S*** or get off the pot!!"

 

I gather that your consulting work comes under the category of self-employed. Few people have that luxury. I have high income, but also very high taxes. I have virtually no deductions because I am retired and living off my investments. I get dividends and interest, have no "business" expenses, and spend my money on travel, toys, and living expenses. Even my charitable contributions are not fully deductible: Over a certain income, you can only take a certain percentage of your contributions as deductions. And as noted earlier, my municipal bonds are tax-free, but pay lower interest, so that's a wash. (Except that they add balance and diversity to my portfolio.)

Most people work for a living, have few deductions other than standard dependents, and no legitimate ways to tax-shelter their money other than a retirement account, which will be taxed when they withdraw it.

I'm sure we'd all be curious as to how a self-employed person in Canada goes about paying so little tax.

Would you be willing to tell us what percentage of your income goes to taxes? (It's okay if you don't want to. I would not answer that question myself other than to say it's a lot. )

 

No, I am NOT a sole proprietorship, I am incorporated as a CCPC

Canadian Controlled Private Corporation - Corporate Tax - CCPC

I am careful how much I "pay" myself, again on the advice of my tax attorney, to stay within my Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption

http://www.cfib.ca/research/businfo/pdf/min0122.pdf

but long story short, after one considers the very generous exemptions allowed for business-related activity, the recent change to CRA regulations that allows a 2 year depreciation schedule for office computers, laptops, routers, switches, etc, my highest possible tax rate would be 11%

Factor in the grants, incentives, exemptions, and credits, I pay nowhere near that.

But the only way to properly ensure the maximum possible legal advantage is to have the professional service of a qualified attorney, and a taxation attorney, during the incorporation process. Which is what I did, much to my benefit

One will notice that most attorneys in Canada will also do practice as a "Professional Company" for tax-related purposes

I realized a long time ago that rather than try to fight this unfair system, might as well join it and reap the rewards

 

They cost more due to the cost of translating them to Canadian.

I work for a corporation that is 100% owned by my wife and me. I used to run a sole proprietorship, but the advantages of incorporation made it worth the cost and bother.

Tom

 

Eh?

Hoser!

Done properly, the "cost and bother" are MORE than made up in tax savings.

A lot of folks wondered why I left the US to run a business in Canada: Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption.

I look after myself, but I tend to be fair about it. If somebody feels I am "abusing" the system, here is where you can report me to the Canada Revenue Agency

Project Trident

My tax attorney and business attorney are standing by. If I am audited, keep in mind the fees charged by my tax attorney and business attorney are a 100% writeoff. Thank you