Documenting Taxes for Canadians

[fmgee]

atskywalker: I have to say you got a good deal there as you were only charged the federal tax rate.
I think the Ontario tax rate is 13.975 cents per gram. So customs forgot to ding you for $104.81 + GST on that amount!
In BC the provincial tax rate would be an extra $75 ontop of that and I think Alberta provicial duty on this size of order would be $120 more than Ontario.
Nice looking order by the way. Enjoy

 

[yaddy306]

I'm still confused. You purchased 15 tins, but the Customs declaration lists 13. And somehow they calculated that 13 tins of 50g each adds up to 3 lbs 12 oz? 650g is not 3lbs 12oz.

Not that it makes a difference if you're taxed on the value rather than the quantity. But how regularly do they screw up their math?
Edit: or maybe 3lb12oz includes the weight of the tins themselves? Still doesn't explain why they counted 13 tins instead of 15.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

They miscalculated your duty. Only the federal duty was charged and not the Ontario duty. This is not surprising. Of the few times I have had to pay duty, on only a couple of occasions was the duty calculated correctly. Sometimes only the federal duty is charged and sometimes (better yet) only HST is charged. Your duty should have been much higher, so you did well.

 

[atskywalker]

Looks like everyone thinks I should've done a lot worse . From that angle I guess I'm happy!

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Yeah, you really made out like a bandit! 8)

 

[dochudson]

All you U.S. folks who are smiling you better cellar deep and sooner then later.. when they start taxing the internet the party will be over.

 

[cajunrph]

Move to Texas,we don't tax like that. Hahaha.
All kidding aside, it's a sad state of affairs when the government tries to dictate morality via taxation. Glad they miscalculated on your true taxes. And it is an eye opener. We are blessed in the land of the free.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

All you U.S. folks who are smiling you better cellar deep and sooner then later.. when they start taxing the internet the party will be over.

I agree. I keep trying to explain the investment angle to my wife, with varying degrees of success. Internet/cross state tax/higher tax on pipe tobacco is inevitable, no doubt. Frankly, I'm surprised it's been left mostly alone this long. Now that rolling tobacco has pulled their re-branding stunt and politicians aren't clever enough to find a way to distinguish them from real pipe tobaccos, we are all screwed.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

US National debt: $18, 275, 000, 000, 000 +
Texas state debt: $ 296,466,000,000 +
Man, I wish I could live in the "Land of the Free"
Is it "free" because you use your visa?

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Free means two things. I'm sure you knew that, but it didn't stop you from taking the easy shot.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I am quite happy with how we have the other meaning covered off.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

I would be too! Canadians do a lot of things really well. I don't wave the flag too hard.. I think when we get back in to the top five in, I don't know... education, healthcare, happiness indexes, any of that really, then we can be more proud of our "freedom."
Taxing the ever-loving crap out of pipe tobacco probably isn't part of the solution anywhere, USA, Canada or otherwise.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

And don't get me wrong, I love the US. I vacation there and have family there. But what is happening there can't continue. The government is absolutely dysfunctional, and sooner or later the piper will need to be paid. I personally would much prefer it if the piper was satiated through "voluntary" taxes such as those on alcohol and tobacco, which as a tax policy academic I find less disruptive and far more efficient than the alternative (i.e. taxing productive effort).

 

[pipesmokingtom]

I think using the money that's already generated more efficiently could go a lot farther than finding new ways to pillage. I'm not a tax academic, but I worked in the defense industry long enough to know that if even a fraction of THAT money went to feeding hungry babies, they wouldn't have to look at my tobacco for funds.

 

[cajunrph]

I don't live off of my Visa. I make more than enough money to pay all my bills. Keep in mind debt includes everything. Municipal Bonds, state borrowing, city borrowing. Everything. More telling is the income to debit ratio. This state has no issues servicing it's debt. But since you lobbed at me. Are you completely debt free? Own your resident, car everything? How do you live? Even if you owned everything, you'd still owe the power company for next month's bill. Still in debt. Numbers can be made into anything. At any rate,the guys north of the border are getting shafted by your government on your taxes.
And let's all remember what free means in saying "The Land of the Free." I'm sure your guys can figure it out. Free as in freedom.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

I live under a mountain of debt. The only things I truly own are my guitars, my pipes and my tobacco. And even those could probably be sued away from me :lol:

 

[cajunrph]

Canadian national debt is $808,493,000,000. Almost 4 times what was quoted for Texas with just about the same GDP. Just an FYI. Those darn numbers. I'm not even from Texas. I'm not a Texas flag waving person in the least. But don't start to spit out numbers on Texas when you must not even know your own.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Darn those customs taxes on tobacco - they're just way expensive, amiright?

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I am well aware of the Canadian numbers. Yours are state numbers, and even that ignores munipal debt. Factor in the federal numbers and the municpal numbers and the US per taxpayer national debt is way above that of Canada and most other G20 nations. If the only debt a Texan had was the state debt, it would be very manageable, but alas, the Federal debt adds another $150,000+ of debt per taxpayer.
The point is that at some point the debt will need to be paid. The shenaningans of allowing the avoidance of state sales and tobacco taxes through the medium of the internet can only last so long. Hence, the advice to cellar long and deep while you still can.
Yeah, free as in freedom. Pardon me while I snicker my ass off.

 

[atskywalker]

My earlier comment that ended with 'The end is near though :lol:" was referring to the current discussion you guys are having :wink:
I second peckinpahhombre in regards to the inability of the system to continue the way it is and its dysfunction. I just wouldn't single out the US (its certainly an exaggerated example of the dysfunction due to its sheer size - physically & economically). The system is broken worldwide. Taxes - at least the way they're implemented now - have merit only in theory. The practice is much more dubious in its outcome.
For a good (and very different) read about taxes and the system try "Progress & Poverty" by Henry George.