BlackIsle
Member
(WARNING: This post contains data and opinions. The thoughts and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of any of the other contributors of this forum. No (small) animals were harmed in its production but I may have neglected to feed the cat this morning.)
So the new Provincial Levy is kicking in. My original, personal thoughts were that, well, I will do my bit as long as this mess is fixed and they don't come looking for more down the road (naive from the beginning I suppose).
I wasn't worked up but now I realize I am a schmuck. And I'll get to that in a minute.
First I'm from the Bay and nothing tears at me more than seeing its decline. Young people in the community I grew up in have moved on and the ones left are getting older. Much older. And in a decade it won't exist anymore. I confess to be torn up about that. But with the recent budget cuts local clinics and services were cut. Everyone is up in arms. This seems to happening in several areas of the Province.
Then reality sets in. I work with numbers, data and facts. So bear with me while I go through some numbers. The NL Population is about 530,000 and those employed is almost 242,000 (of a labour force currently of 271,000). Only 45% of the population is working. The rest are kids and seniors, etc. Then according to provincial data from their website and the 2016 Budget info it 'appears' that just over 56,000 people are paying over 75% of governments tax revenue. This means that the remainder don't make enough to pay taxes. So digging further into the statistics on regional incomes it 'appears' that the numbers of taxpayers, in my own area, doesn't even come to a full one percent of those who pay in.
My question then is how do we expect to keep these services going? Anyone? I get the impression that people from my area feel that it is their God given right to the same services provided in Corner Brook, Gander or St.John's. That may have been the case twenty or thirty years ago but is it today? I'm not sure. The healthcare budget in NL is around $3.5 Billion. Take a look at our population number again. Do the math. Not going to last. And if people were in a twist about Library closures God help us when the real cuts come!
So back to my original point. Me being a schmuck. The new Levy is about to kick in and I realize I may have to adjust a few things, cut back. And of course like a true Newfoundlander you talk about it. That's when I got a smack in the gob you see. During a conversation with a friend in the financial industry I realized that only the 'true' middle class are going to end up paying. Anyone making less than $50,000 was relieved of the burden. My altruistic side says 'okay' give them a break and a bit of a leg up leg up so to speak. Then my friend crushed my bubble when they said, 'well, it's ONLY the middle class that will be paying'. Please go on I urged.
I was then presented a picture which I have no doubt is real given the work of person providing the message. Essentially the scenario is they have a client that owns a small but prosperous business in retail and tourism with multiple locations. The individual doesn't want to pay the levy, doesn't agree with it. So what to do? Drop his income to one third of its current amount and increase the salaries of his two teenage kids already employed in the business. As the Levy is based on Net Income anyway there are deductions that get them all down below the $50K mark. The kids get CPP and EI contributions as does the owner, and 'all' their incomes are used to pay for the usual expenses. All Legal. No levy paid. Lifestyle unchanged. Mission accomplished.
Then it dawns on me. Everyone in that position is going to do the same thing. And the ones left paying are the regular 'salaried' joes. Schmucks. Me.
It was an eye opener for me to say the least. And after hearing this, where I simply accepted the Levy before ,now I have to admit I'm getting miffed. Did I say I was a schmuck?
So the new Provincial Levy is kicking in. My original, personal thoughts were that, well, I will do my bit as long as this mess is fixed and they don't come looking for more down the road (naive from the beginning I suppose).
I wasn't worked up but now I realize I am a schmuck. And I'll get to that in a minute.
First I'm from the Bay and nothing tears at me more than seeing its decline. Young people in the community I grew up in have moved on and the ones left are getting older. Much older. And in a decade it won't exist anymore. I confess to be torn up about that. But with the recent budget cuts local clinics and services were cut. Everyone is up in arms. This seems to happening in several areas of the Province.
Then reality sets in. I work with numbers, data and facts. So bear with me while I go through some numbers. The NL Population is about 530,000 and those employed is almost 242,000 (of a labour force currently of 271,000). Only 45% of the population is working. The rest are kids and seniors, etc. Then according to provincial data from their website and the 2016 Budget info it 'appears' that just over 56,000 people are paying over 75% of governments tax revenue. This means that the remainder don't make enough to pay taxes. So digging further into the statistics on regional incomes it 'appears' that the numbers of taxpayers, in my own area, doesn't even come to a full one percent of those who pay in.
My question then is how do we expect to keep these services going? Anyone? I get the impression that people from my area feel that it is their God given right to the same services provided in Corner Brook, Gander or St.John's. That may have been the case twenty or thirty years ago but is it today? I'm not sure. The healthcare budget in NL is around $3.5 Billion. Take a look at our population number again. Do the math. Not going to last. And if people were in a twist about Library closures God help us when the real cuts come!
So back to my original point. Me being a schmuck. The new Levy is about to kick in and I realize I may have to adjust a few things, cut back. And of course like a true Newfoundlander you talk about it. That's when I got a smack in the gob you see. During a conversation with a friend in the financial industry I realized that only the 'true' middle class are going to end up paying. Anyone making less than $50,000 was relieved of the burden. My altruistic side says 'okay' give them a break and a bit of a leg up leg up so to speak. Then my friend crushed my bubble when they said, 'well, it's ONLY the middle class that will be paying'. Please go on I urged.
I was then presented a picture which I have no doubt is real given the work of person providing the message. Essentially the scenario is they have a client that owns a small but prosperous business in retail and tourism with multiple locations. The individual doesn't want to pay the levy, doesn't agree with it. So what to do? Drop his income to one third of its current amount and increase the salaries of his two teenage kids already employed in the business. As the Levy is based on Net Income anyway there are deductions that get them all down below the $50K mark. The kids get CPP and EI contributions as does the owner, and 'all' their incomes are used to pay for the usual expenses. All Legal. No levy paid. Lifestyle unchanged. Mission accomplished.
Then it dawns on me. Everyone in that position is going to do the same thing. And the ones left paying are the regular 'salaried' joes. Schmucks. Me.
It was an eye opener for me to say the least. And after hearing this, where I simply accepted the Levy before ,now I have to admit I'm getting miffed. Did I say I was a schmuck?
