Taxes | Open Policy Ontario

15Feb 2017 by johnastapleton

A better way to save 2.6%

Late last year, some colleagues and I released a report on called ‘The Cost of Poverty in Toronto’. We found that poverty costs the Toronto economy between $4.4 and $5.5 billion per year. For this discussion, I will use a figure of $5 billion. Since Toronto has never been poverty-free and there is no comparable city that has ever eradicated poverty, it is a difficult figure to calculate. In the absence of hard evidence, we looked at poverty-related costs incurred by the poorest 20 per cent of people in Toronto (the lowest quintile) compared to the cost profile of the next quintile of people (the second lowest quintile). The second lowest quintile pays higher taxes while incurring far fewer costs related to healthcare, the courts and justice system. If the…

26Feb 2016 by johnastapleton

A ‘Robin Hood’ Budget for 2016 in Ontario

“Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men Feared by the bad, loved by the good Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.” In the Budget lockup yesterday, I started to silently sing the Robin Hood song that I learned back in the 1950’s as a kid. Robin Hood was the mediaeval archer who took from the rich and gave to the poor. Robin Hood was brave and Kathleen Wynne may be even braver. There are lots of new sin taxes and levies on the better off that became the fodder for 680 News over the evening and morning hours. There were some great interviews with ‘objective’ listeners who were “unhappy” or who thought the Budget was “ridiculous”. Cigarettes up by three…

27Mar 2015 by johnastapleton

The plight of low income hardworking seniors

This is the year that I become a senior citizen for the first and only time. I wrote a blog when I turned 60 for an online newspaper called ‘The Mark’ on what it means to turn age 60 when you are poor[1]. I spent the next four years on a self-motivated project called ‘Retiring on a low income’. I know from my ‘Google analytics’ that it is very popular as the material has been accessed about 45,000 times, mostly from new users. My blog on the subject, written in 2013, was the most popular blog on the Vibrant Communities website in 2014. I now want to set my sights on the issues that beset those who have already turned 65 but continue to live on a low income. Catherine…

21Jan 2014 by johnastapleton

A story of two poor seniors: Linda and Doris are the highest taxed people in Ontario

A woman I am helping by the name of Linda Chamberlain[1] will be turning 65 in July 2014. I am helping her fill out her Old Age Security (OAS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) applications. She has given me permission to talk about her situation. Her income will go from about $700 a month from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) to about $1,400 a month from OAS, GIS and a little known program called the Guaranteed Annual Income System for the Aged (GAINS-A)[2]. That’s the good news. Linda is eligible for $100 a month in CPP Retirement benefits but we did not apply for her CPP. Many community members have asked why we refrained from applying. My answer is that her CPP would be clawed…

01Jan 2014 by johnastapleton

Honey, we blew up the post office! How we traded a working public utility for a business failure in one fell swoop

On December 11, 2013, Canada Post announced a new ‘Five Point Plan” to return the corporation to profitability. No more home delivery. Gone! Postal rates of a dollar a letter – a 59% increase. More unmanned kiosks Fewer sorting facilities More postal franchises. The goal here is clearly not to provide a good service or to move the mails. The clear goal is profitability as a means to the end of ensuring that Canada Post does not receive any tax money. That is what self-sustaining means as it applies to Canada Post. Spokesperson for Canada Post Anick Losier noted: “When we did our consultation, the one thing that was crystal clear is that Canadians don’t want to see a burden on their taxes.”[1] Well, as Aristotle once noted a couple…

06Mar 2013 by johnastapleton No Comments

Government is often more efficient than the private sector … So why do we still hate government?

Anyone living in Toronto with access to a car and phone can replicate the experience that I had recently. I drove downtown and parked on the street in one of those spaces that you need to get a parking voucher for the time you expect to stay. While I was feeding the machine, a parking enforcement officer was stretching his neck to look for a voucher in my car. I yelled and hooted: “I’m paying now… don’t ticket me!” He backed off and waved. I attended a lunch but miscalculated the time I would require. The mistake cost me $30. The ticket was time-stamped 8 minutes after the expiry of my voucher. Later that day, I phoned to make a variation in one Air Canada airline ticket while a second…

09Feb 2013 by johnastapleton

“We have not received a valid entry – Goodbye”

In the early part of each calendar year, I buy a copy of TurboTax and learn the tax changes for the upcoming year. From mid-March to the end of April, I spend a lot of time explaining the personal income tax system to people who complete income taxes for others, especially those who have low income. I also complete tax returns for a few low income pensioners who have trouble completing their returns. For years, I took down all the information and then mailed each one a (pdf) copy of their return. They would dutifully attach all their information slips, copies of their medical expenses, sign and date the return, and mail a fat package of paper into the Canada Revenue Agency. One of the most difficult hurdles in convincing…