Sin taxes

[cowman]

On a package of cigarettes the tobbacco farmer gets about 3.5 cents(cured). The tobbacco manufacturer,distributor, retailer etc. get about $1.21. The federal and provincial government get $8!!! Now on top of that all of the others(Farmers,manufacturers, suppliers, workers) send an additional amount for income tax, business tax, land taxes, workmans comp.,E.I. and CP. Lets say another 35% or about 40 cents! So the governments rake in $8.40/pack. If there are 7.5 million smokers smoking an average of 1 pack per day that works out to about 23 billion per year!
Now if the governments do as well on booze(and they probably do) we're up to around 45 billion!! Now I bet that goes a long way to pay the old health care bill??? And if you believe the tobbacco propaganda smoking kills you off about 7 years early so you don't collect your pension or clutter up the hospital too long! And a lot of drunks kick the bucket early!
We won't even go into the extra taxes on chocolate bars, soft drinks, and potato chips and how they also kill you off early. I suspect that if the government didn't have smoking, drinking, eating junk food and gambling we'd be in the poor house! And if they ever succeeded in turning everyone into a little puritan, at what rate would the income tax and GST have to be at?

[ianben]

Taxes are very similar here in UK We pay more I think but get "free" health care and of course subsidies.
How do you like to be taxed?
I think we have to accept we must pay lots of tax but why do we have to have so many ways of colecting it?
Personnally I prefer what you call sin taxes and then GST our VAT. We pay 17.5% today but rumour is it will go to 20% next week after our budget.
I hate income tax most. Taking money I earned before I see it does not seem fair.
Accountants earn a fortune inventing dodges, criminals and the black ecconamy avoid it altogether.
At least with sin tax and Gst we all pay the same if we want the pleasure and can choose hoe we spend our hard earned cash.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to collect taxes in fewer ways?
Some taxes must cost a lot more to administer than others. Income tax again all those forms and checks wouldn't it be simpler to just increase gst and sin taxes.

[cowman]

I have always thought how simple it would be to just do away with all taxes and just have one big VAT or GST. Why don't governments do this? Well mainly because it would probably amount to about 75%!!! And then people would realize what a pack of thieves we have running the show!
In Canada we have "free medi-care" too. Unfortunately it is fast becoming free non-medi-care! It has become a little cash cow for our medical profession so now we see doctors becomeing corporations more concerned with racking up huge profits than actually being doctors. While every Tom, Dick and Harry runs off to the doctor everytime they sneeze! If you actually get sick you wait a long time to see a specialist or get surgury. Eventually the whole rotten mess will collapse on itself and we will have to return to a more sane system.
I don't believe our governments have reached the level of tax theft you have over their but they are all working like little beavers trying to catch up.
Hope things are going well for you over there. I suppose you are getting close to planting time?

[Steve]

We are all part of the Government and our constant demand for more free services should be a direct ratio to taxes that need to be collected. In many instances the Government needs to borrows money or collect more taxes to provide these expanding services. The same people demand more money to provide these services. I know there is money wasted in some peoples view, but there is no way to please all. Farmers you need all these people to eat the food you produce.

[ianben]

I suppose you are right cowman it would just be too much if we realised how much tax we all payed in one way and another
Our present government has got a reputation for stealth taxes. They promised not to put up income tax when they got elected. They sure have taxed evcerything else though new energy tax blamed on kyoto aggergates and mining tax enviromently unfriendly huge tipping tax again enviroment and guess who defines what is waste. The government There is talk horse manure from stables which we charge to remove could be liable at so much/tonne because it must be waste if they pay to have it moved
We finished planting last Sunday. Having a dream spring weatherwise over here. Three weeks of dry still sunny days I would think everything will be planted by the weeekend a good month ahead of mormal.
Rain will be needed soon though as crops are shallow rooted due to two years of excess moisture.
Winter canola is in flower fields are just about yellow winter barley has started to elongate will shoot first week of May. Some wheat crops have already had 8 passes down the tramlines with fert and sprays and will have 4/5 more before harvest.
Swallows are back in the south but haven't seen any here yet.
Spring is my favorite time of year.
Has is got any warmer with you?
Winter must seem long when spring arrives in May.

[cowman]

Ian: The weather is pretty decent here right now with daytime highs in that 10 range. The snow is just starting to go and seems to be going into the ground, which is good because it was really dry here last fall. I am in central Alberta and we had a good snow cover but it is dry down south and over in Sask.
No robins,blue birds or swallows back yet but lots of geese flying over.

[dalek]

Hey cowman, starting cultivating here today, halfway between Toronto and Ottawa (as far as I can get from both of them in this neighbourhood)

[countryguy]

HA HA Dalek,that's funny.How's the moisture situation in your neck of the woods?

[cowman]

Ian: Winter is awfully long out here! Started feeding cows Nov.7 and expect to feed until May 20. Makes for a short summer.
Dalek: What sort of crops do you grow down there in Ontario?

[dalek]

Raining a little tonight but very, very dry. We grow winter wheat (looking decent), alfalfa (established fields are up but our new seeding died in the drought last year) barley, soybeans and corn and milk 60-70 cows