Flat Tax and Tithing
- Thread starter The Thriller
- Start date
He did talk about that but the idea was around before he proposed it. I think he called it 9-9-9.
jimmy eat jazz
Well-Known Member
With respect, I don't see anyone arguing this, certainly not One Brow. The argument is that 10% tax on someone living at the margins is a greater financial hardship than 10% tax on someone at the top income brackets. Seems pretty self-evident to me. This is far, far from arguing for equality of outcome. I honestly cannot see how one infers the latter from the former.
scootsy
Well-Known Member
Is my tax rate negative considering how much I've gotten back from the government? Public roads, facilities, education, grants, etc?
D
Deleted member 848
Guest
With this thought process I am seriously in the negative, with school being 7k a year, let alone my free healthcare.
scootsy
Well-Known Member
Dal I have a question. When I lived in Great Falls, MT, I knew a guy there who would do the emergency flights for a hospital, which was an excellent hospital and serves a large region. He brought a LOT of people down there though from southern Alberta. Do you think that is due to quality of healthcare, or simply because Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, etc. are simply closer to GF than to Edmonton or Calgary?
I ask because I know your high intelligence and current enrollment in Canadian med school. I know the education is certainly on par, but are the resources as well?
I ask because I know your high intelligence and current enrollment in Canadian med school. I know the education is certainly on par, but are the resources as well?
MoreFeasts
Member
Interesting. Are the members reporting this income to the IRS?
scootsy
Well-Known Member
Could the IRS penalize me for not reporting the check my grandma sends me for my birthday?
Ill try to do a better job explaining my point when I have some time this evening.
MoreFeasts
Member
scootsy , That's a different circumstance and probably subject to different rules on reporting.
Is your grandmother a tax exempt corporation?
Is your grandmother a tax exempt corporation?
scootsy
Well-Known Member
Are the kids who receive care packages from the red cross required to report those received donations?
The LDS church rarely, if ever, gives direct money to its members. Assistance is usually in the form of food, services or the payment of bills (rent, utilities...).
The people that get this assistance are those in need. They usually do not file taxes anyways as they do not need to.
Edit: Also there is no 1099 issued by the church for those services. So even if they had to claim them how would they do so?
D
Deleted member 848
Guest
A few things:
- I am applying for medical school-- I am not yet enrolled. Writing my MCAT this summer, and probably applying at the end of next year *cross yo finguz 4 me*
- I am not really that intelligent, nor am I the best voice for this, but I'll give it a crack
Distance-wise, they're a wash. I think via chopper, you probably have a quicker flight to Great Falls than you do to Calgary, from Lehtbridge. But the healthcare is free within the province, so I can't imagine that the patient seeking medical attention would want to actually spend money, unless it was for a given reason.
Now, I am admittedly unaware with the specific quality of healthcare in Calgary. I also know that there is a growing trend towards less public investment in healthcare, so the University of Alberta is relying on privatized investment in order continue expanding the strength of its medical treatment.
Here's a building on campus (I'm on campus right now):
The Mazankowski Heart institute. As per their website, "The Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute has become one of Canada’s leading heart centers in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. It offers comprehensive cardiac surgery, cardiology services and patient education. The Mazankowski is the nucleus for highly skilled cardiac care professionals, researchers and educators". As someone who volunteers in this hospital, it really is quite advanced, and it certainly costed a LOT of money.
Theres other buildings, like the Darryl Katz Group Center for Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, or the Li Ka Shing institute of Virology (both famous billionaires, with the former being the owner of the Edmonton Oilers, and the latter being a top-10 Forbes list dude).
So if anything, Alberta of all provinces REALLY shouldn't be suffering from lack of investment, or resources from the private and public sectors-- the oil-sands are supplying enormous amounts of wealth to the province, and theres billion-dollar medical-related buildings sprouting up left and right.
So, to answer your question: The education is most-certainly on par, without a doubt. My friend just got into Stanford medical school, and hell be pursuing a post-doctorate fellowship at Johns Hopkins University-- and return back to Edmonton. This is quite common-- so the staff at many of these hospitals have a U of A med degree at worst (a quite good degree, mind you), with numerous having finished their education at some of the best schools in the world.
So it isn't lack of funding, or lack of credentials. I think the main problem is that sometimes the service can take a hit, because youre trying to make medical treatment as affordable for everyone as possible. So thats when you hear stories about Canadian citizens having to wait 3 months for MRIs, not being able to start cancer treatment until later, and so on.
But guess what? If you want to get your MRI right away, pay for it. If you want better cancer treatment, pay for it.
People from the states like to criticize our healthcare-- but the fact of the matter is, is that private healthcare plans are EXTREMELY prevalent, and every person is free to choose a slew of different treatment plans for them. If they're too poor to have their cardiac arrest treated in the best hospital in north america-- its okay. Someone in Edmonton will do a pretty good attempt at it. Maybe you'll need to wait a little, and maybe the doctors credentials won't be up to par. But you'll be getting very passable service, at zero price.
To me, this seems better than in the states, where you're counting on privatized healthcare for everyone-- and the tens of millions who don't have it have NO option. Not to mention the hijinx regarding there being different hospitals to people with different economic standings. Here, everyone goes to the same hospitals. Those who are wealthy might choose a doctor based in Chicago for example-- and their reasons are certainly credible. We don't have the best doctors in the world, and we don't have the best sources of funding. But what I am trying to say is, the actual treatment itself is MORE than suitable for every citizen living in Alberta-- again, I'm speaking about the hospitals in Edmonton. Don't know how Calgary compares.
The only thing that is a huge problem is wait-times, in my opinion. Probably the biggest problem with health-care in Alberta. But again, I'd rather wait, then get nothing at all.
MoreFeasts
Member
Sounds like an area ripe for tax fraud to me. So you are saying that people are getting rent , utilities , and food paid for, and probably not reporting it. It sure sounds like income to me. They might also be getting tax credits . I would think that this income should be reported for proper calculation of tax credits. Sounds like great potential for double dipping. If they are not filing a tax return, but not taking this income into account for this decision, maybe they really should be filing a tax return. Just because there is no 1099, does not mean that it should not be reported.
It is possible that the church should be doing a 1099 for payments over a certain amount, not sure on the rules for this.
D
Deleted member 848
Guest
I struggled to stay on topic there.
To answer your question, I truly have no idea why they'd go to Great Falls-- I really don't. Edmonton is very far away from southern Alberta, so it is out of the equation. But I never figured, or heard, that Calgary was that bad.
To put it simply, I have no clue. Perhaps the service of Great Falls is simply better. If we're talking medical emergencies, then wait-times really shouldn't be a problem. A person would be admitted immediately in Calgary if their medical condition is in a grave state.
But to answer your other questions, health-care is not nearly as bad as some would think. I've had three of my relatives cure their cancers here. I personally have never had any qualms with the medical system-- yes, I waited in the hospital with an ear infection for 8 hours in the middle of the night, but at least I wasn't paying $1200 for the visit.
To answer your question, I truly have no idea why they'd go to Great Falls-- I really don't. Edmonton is very far away from southern Alberta, so it is out of the equation. But I never figured, or heard, that Calgary was that bad.
To put it simply, I have no clue. Perhaps the service of Great Falls is simply better. If we're talking medical emergencies, then wait-times really shouldn't be a problem. A person would be admitted immediately in Calgary if their medical condition is in a grave state.
But to answer your other questions, health-care is not nearly as bad as some would think. I've had three of my relatives cure their cancers here. I personally have never had any qualms with the medical system-- yes, I waited in the hospital with an ear infection for 8 hours in the middle of the night, but at least I wasn't paying $1200 for the visit.
Are 1099s issued for food stamps?
To be honest I think you are simply making a mountain out of a mole hill.
MoreFeasts
Member
I don't know , are they? My understanding is that people receiving food stamps have to sign their name to a government application which requires them to disclose all assets and income, and the government can check as to their validity. I would imagine that if the government requires them to report this as income, then it is reported as income. I would think that if they owe much in taxes, then they don't qualify for food stamps.
Food stamps for a single person would be much less then help with food AND rent AND utilities AND medical bills and God knows what else. Your comparison is poor.