The HST and you.

On July 1, 2010 the Canadian government will implement the Harmonized Sales Tax(how can you use the word harmony with tax) anyway its coming and in fact its already here in some places.  In my role as a entrepreneur I have to keep up on my taxes and how it will affect my ventures. I was doing some reading this morning and thought I would post a little something to inform my readers.

The HST is 13%.

One thing I find funny is that there is no tax on junk food under a certain price but gym memberships are taxed…kinda defeating isn’t it, I think it should be the other way around.

What’s Exempt From HST
Consumers will not have to pay HST on items that are currently exempt from PST such as groceries, child care, tutoring, prescription drugs and most financial services.

Nor will consumers have to pay the provincial portion of the HST tax on goods such as books (including audio books), feminine hygiene products, and children’s clothing, including footwear.

For more details visit the Ontario Tax Benefits for Consumers site.

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/taxchange/consumers.html

HST and SMB
The Small Supplier Exception Continues
Ontario is leaving the Small Supplier exception in place, so if you are operating a small business that makes $30,000 or less annually, you are not required to register for or collect Ontario HST. However, you may voluntarily register your small business, enabling you to claim Input Tax Credits.

As a Small Supplier even though you may not do not have a legal obligation to register to collect GST/HST you can still choose to register voluntarily. The incentive here is that because you will be charging GST/HST on your services you will be able to “claim Input Tax Credits (ITC) for the GST/HST you paid or owe on purchases related to your business.

Detroit Could Be Completely Broke in Days

Date: Monday, September 21, 2009, 5:06 am
By: Michael H. Cottman, BlackAmericaWeb.com

DETROIT – The clock is ticking on the Motor City.

The City of Detroit is on the verge of going broke in 10 days unless Mayor Dave Bing can figure out a way to fix a $300 million deficit.

Bing set Oct. 1 as the deadline to get the city’s financial crisis under control or the city could fall into receivership. People are being laid off. Bus routes are being discontinued. Schools are closing. City employees – including public school teachers – say they fear for their jobs.

And to make matters worse, in a city where crime is spiraling out of control, even Detroit’s top cops are getting mugged.

Last weekend, one of Detroit’s deputy police chief’s was robbed of $300 – at gunpoint. Deputy Chief Herbert Moreland was off duty and robbed outside of his car around 3 a.m., said spokesman John Roach.

“At some point the deputy chief struggled with the suspect, and the deputy chief had his departmental-issued weapon with him and fired several shots at the suspect, who fled,” Roach said.

How bad is the situation in Detroit when the city’s cops are getting jacked?

Residents are understandably nervous when police, who are sworn to protect the citizens, can barely protect themselves.

In an odd example of how out-of-control the city’s motorists have become, the city has posted large signs on most major highways and roadways that say “Killing/Injuring” city workers on the road is punishable by a $7,500 fine and 15 years in prison.

Driving through parts of Detroit is a painful reminder of just how the economic crisis has devastated this city. Blocks of buildings are boarded up or gutted. The city has more than 80,000 abandoned buildings, which leads the nation.

A stretch of downtown along Woodward Avenue – once a bustling commercial corridor – is now a wasteland, while huge empty lots with broken glass once housed some of Detroit’s most profitable car dealerships. Some older black residents have been living for years behind bars on their doors and windows and say they are afraid to walk in their own neighborhoods.

Some claim that despite the current recession, black men continue to lose huge sums of money every week in Detroit’s three Vegas-style casinos.

And several black professionals who work closely with the city say they are weary of watching the continuing downfall of Detroit, a city that once had high hopes for former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who resigned in disgrace a year ago.

But Bing has told officials that he’ll get it all under control, starting with managing the financial crisis. Even the city’s public transportation has been impacted as a number of bus routes have been eliminated.

“We will have a blueprint to fix the city of Detroit,” Bing said this week during a luncheon with women business leaders.

Bing plans to meet with top officials soon to create a strategy “on what we can do, what we can accomplish, in the short term, medium term and long term,” he said.

The mayor, 65, a professional basketball Hall of Famer who played nine NBA seasons with the Detroit Pistons, campaigned on a platform to run the city like a business.

And while Bing tells residents that no one is “protected” from potential layoffs, civic groups argue that crime in Detroit is spiraling out of control, maintaining that now is not the time to reduce the number of police officers who patrol the streets.

Bing handed over his annual salary of $176,000 to the police department recently and said tough times are ahead.

“Detroit, from a structural standpoint, is broke,” Bing said told reporters. “What we’ve had is failed leadership in the City of Detroit. Our City Council has been as big a disappointment as the mayor’s office has been.”

Tick-tock.

[SOURCE: Black America Web]

My President is black

I was there.

For the first time in…forever, a visible black man is in the White House and he is not “the help”. The next election will be held on November 6th 2012 followed by the inauguration on January 20th 2013. Although I am a voting Canadian I’ve never been actively involved in the political scene because being Canadian there is no apparent black representation ever running for premier, the views portrayed on television during our elections is heavily white centric, there is never anyone that looks like me. This year during the American 08 elections for the first time in my 36 years on the planet I saw something new and exciting, I saw a visible black man running for President of one of the most powerful countries on earth, a country whose history is that of slave drivers, bigotry and intolerance towards black people and other people of visible ethnic diversity, and now there was black man running for president. In the past other black men have ran for the presidential seat but non that seem so capable and non that actually seem to have a real chance until Barrack Obama. I decided that this was my chance to be a part of my black history and give to my black people that have giving me so much, my chance to make a change. I watched the election as closely as I could and traveled to Detroit to volunteer my time and n the campaign. Myself and some friends canvassed houses in what seem to me to be badly degenerated areas in Detroit to encourage people to come out and vote and offer options to get them to the polls.

On Tuesday Nov 4/08 we drove to Chicago to volunteer for the last push and to make history and see if we could catch a live view of Mr. Obama. Admittedly I was a bit surprised when he won, I expected some sort of underhandedness by a system that was known for its sometimes questionable election process. When the ballots where all counted everyone was overwhelm with joy at Grant park, I first thank God and told myself to wait until the morning to really believe. And still I was cautious, I wanted to wait until Jan 20 when he was finally sworn in. Still what does this mean, a black man in the white house, man that has embraced technology, a man that is not afraid of change and seemingly wants to genuinely make life better for all people. The question remains in my head on how or when will I see the change because like many I need to see a tangible affects of a promise before I can believe.

A black man is the president of the United States of America, a black man, it blows my mind and gives me shivers, if America, a country steeped in hatred and intolerance can move towards change and vote in a descendant of black American slaves truly hope is alive. The feeling I get when I see or think about that beautiful black family in the white house is something I cannot put into words as yet. I wish were younger, younger so I could enjoy and live a life of more possibilities because now, its like the world has opened up even more, there are more choices now more opportunities available to all peoples. I envy my young niece and nephews because now they can not only dream to be president but they can be president if they so chose.

This election Barrack Obamas’ motto was ‘YES WE CAN’ I anticipate he will run again in 2012 I venture to guess his 2012 mantra will be ‘ONCE YOU GO BLACK YOU CAN’T GO BACK’.

4 Police officers and Lovelle Mixon Dead

I don’t know about hero or resister for the right but then I’m not in Oakland but I know the news that comes out of that area and as a black man I know cops.

I like what the brother says about Lovelle being a human being. The media does it all time, they set you against one group and bring you on board to blindly praise another and its usually a white face. Who knows what these cops have done and gotten away with, no one is perfect and I am sure there are things on their records that are not upstanding but we don’t hear that, instead we hear how they were great cops, loving husbands doing their job…what does that mean…harassing black men is that there job?

Black men are killed everyday by white cops doing “their job”, then these black men are demonized by the media “well he was this”"he was that”…but never anything to show that he(the black man) was a loving husband, a father, a diligent student, a man. The cops are praised as black mothers cry rivers of tears when they must bury thier babies. I won’t say Lovelle is an hero, he has done some bad things but lets not demonize a dead man lets give him and his family as much respect as we give these cops. People have to realize cops are not all good, they may act it but they aren’t gods or above the law, they are humans with the same flaws and weakness and just because the Police forces cover up their wrong doings do not for a moment believe these cops are all angels.

I do not condone the kills either that of Lovelle or the police officers but you keep poking a cat with a stick and eventually that cat will lash out.