Would be interesting to find out how many tax auditors there are at all levels of gov't. Every time a politician dreams up another tax, someone has to administer that. More public employees on handsome salaries with full benefits at the expense of we the taxpayers. But in a way, we bring it on ourselves, demanding ever more services.
Some examples of tax items on my utility bills. There are also some charges that I have trouble figuring out, not sure whether they're a tax or what.
BC Hydro - "Rate Rider @ 5% - $3.45"? What in the world is a rate rider? A tax or some nifty little cash grab by the gov't corporation? Small fee yes, but multiply that by a few million customers. This little gem is subject to GST too. On the plus side, the 'carbon tax' does not seem to apply to this utility. Thank heaven for mega dams in BC, we're not burning coal or splitting atoms to generate electricity here.... yet.
Fortis BC, Natural Gas - This one's a hoot.
Commoditiy Charges - "Midstream"? This is above the actual "Cost of Gas" line. Was ist das?
Taxes and fees - There are 4, count 'em 4 items under this heading, Franchise Fee, Carbon Tax, Clean Energy Levy and finally good old GST! Clean Energy Levy & Carbon Tax??? Seems like a double whammy to me. Please explain!
Shaw, Internet & Cable - I've recently cancelled the cable TV & use rabbit ears to pull in a single OTA HD channel. This one's pretty straight forward though, GST, PST, c'est tout.
Telus Mobile - Same as Shaw, GST, PST
On top of income tax, property tax, quarterly utility bills subject to tax items I pay to the city of Vernon, I believe there are also taxes on fuel, liquor & many other items we pretty much consider daily needs in our 1st world society. Add a monthly health care charge to my income... it all adds up. Small wonder we pay more in taxes than the other necessities.
I reckon this is why many retirees & some of our honourable Senators have residences in Mexico or other tax havens. Kudos to the savvy retirees, they've earned it. Senators? Shouldn't they be at work in the royal chamber instead of walking their dog on a beach in Mexico?
Now if the majority of these tax dollars are spent wisely it all's well. The news of corruption & misspending we see regularly on the media is cause for concern though.
Sorry, bit of a rant, have a nice weekend....
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